SELE IS JOHNNY ON THE SPOT HE ALLOWS JUST ONE RUN STARTING IN PLACE OF PEREZ DODGERS 10, MILWAUKEE 2.

Byline: HEATHER GRIPP Staff Writer

Just when the Dodgers finally got in touch with Odalis Perez and learned the pitcher was expected to rejoin the team by Tuesday, Aaron Sele gave him little reason to hurry back.

Sele, making his Dodgers debut Sunday in place of Perez, allowed just one run in 6 2/3 innings en route to a 10-2victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in front of 46,699 at Dodger Stadium.

``He was outstanding out there today in his first start for us, and we're very impressed,'' Dodgers manager Grady Little said.

The start was Sele's first this year, and it made a solid case for showing the 35-year-old right-hander still belongs after 13 big-league seasons.

Sele, who was 6-12 with a 5.66 ERA last season with Seattle, began the season at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he went 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA in five starts.

He had an agreement with the Dodgers that he could request his release and seek employment elsewhere if he remained in the minors after the first month of the season.

``I felt like something was going to work out, and I preferred to have it work out with the Dodgers,'' Sele said. ``And that's the reason I signed with them originally.''

Perez, who is tending to his ailing mother in the Dominican Republic, was officially placed on the bereavement list Saturday, opening a roster spot for Sele.

Little said Perez told general manager Ned Colletti he would be back with the team when the homestand resumes Tuesday against Houston.

Little said before the game that Perez, who is 3-1 with a 6.90 ERA in six starts this season, likely would remain in the starting rotation and that ``it'll take some drastic movement for us to move him out of the starting rotation.''

Little said after the game Sele might have earned himself another start.

`We'll see how that goes,'' Little said. ``But right now it's hard to ignore what he went out there today and put together for us. And it's at a time when we welcome any kind of effort like that.''

Sele (1-0) retired 13 consecutive batters after a second-inning infield single by Brewers pitcher Dave Bush (2-4) drove in Milwaukee's first run.

Bush was credited with a hit when his comebacker ricocheted off Sele and wasn't recovered in time to make a play.

Milwaukee didn't get another hit until Jeff Cirillo (Providence High of Burbank/USC) led off the seventh with a double to right.

Sele finished having allowed five hits and one walk while striking out two.

``It's very rewarding to come up and be able to contribute in a positive way,'' said Sele, who said he would consider a relief role.

As for another start?

``That's not for me to decide,'' he said.

Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, another recent call-up from Las Vegas, wasn't surprised by Sele's outing.

``I caught him earlier this year,'' Martin said. ``He did a tremendous job there (for Las Vegas), and it kind of carried over to today. He had very good command, a good cutter, fastball working in and out. He's just a an easy guy to catch because he's got a lot of experience.''

The victory gave the Dodgers a series sweep of the Brewers and their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Martin's first career homer, a solo shot to right-center in the second inning, broke a 1-1 tie. A run-scoring double by Jeff Kent followed by a two-run home run by Olmedo Saenz gave Sele breathing room in a three-run third inning.

The hits kept coming as the Dodgers pounded 14 hits off three Brewers pitchers. Milwaukee starter Ben Sheets was scratched just before the game with shoulder tightness and his replacement, Bush, went six innings, giving up six runs -- four earned -- on eight hits.

``It was good to see the offense bust out like that,'' Little said.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Spot starter Aaron Sele, above, made a bid for staying in the Dodgers rotation with his strong outting Sunday in place of Odalis Perez, who is in the Dominican Republic tending to his ill mother.

Keith Birmingham/Staff Photographer

(2) Right, Rafael Furcal (15) is congratulated at home plate after hitting a home run in the ninth inning that capped the Dodgers' 10-run outburst.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer