Of the unexpected highs Blake DeWitt has felt in his already magical season, nothing, he said, compared to what he experienced Monday night.
The rookie third baseman slapped an opposite-field single with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, driving in Russell Martin with the walk-off run to lift the Dodgers to a 6-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium.
"To be able to come through in a situation like that is what you look forward to as a player," said DeWitt, who is six for six with 12 runs batted in with the bases loaded.
Martin led off the inning with an infield single and took an extra base when a throw by shortstop Paul Janish sailed out of play. Martin moved to third base on a groundout to second base by Jeff Kent, prompting David Weathers to issue intentional walks to James Loney and Matt Kemp.
"Kemp was, what, four for four?" DeWitt said. "Who are you going to pitch to?"
DeWitt's single helped the Dodgers avoid their eighth loss in 11 games and prompted Manager Joe Torre to say of the 22-year-old who hadn't played above the double-A level until this season, "He might not be the greatest player in the world, but he's going to have a long career."
The Dodgers' victory momentarily overshadowed the news after the game that Andruw Jones might have to undergo knee surgery and masked another mediocre outing by one of their starting pitchers, this one from opening-day starter Brad Penny.
Penny failed to pitch seven innings for his fourth consecutive start -- the Dodgers have received only one such performance in their last 16 games -- and gave up five runs and nine hits over six innings, increasing his earned-run average from 5.09 to 5.34. He walked four and struck out only two.
Penny last completed seven innings April 26, only one of six times a Dodgers starter has thrown that many innings. The total is the lowest in the National League.
Because he was experiencing soreness in his throwing arm, Penny swapped places in the rotation with Derek Lowe, who pitched Sunday on three days' rest and gave up seven runs in five innings in a loss to the Angels.
Penny said arm trouble had hindered him in his recent starts but denied it was an issue Monday night.
"I felt better than I thought I would," Penny said. "I was beating myself with the walks."
Asked whether Penny was injured, Torre said, "I certainly hope there's nothing wrong with him."
