The stars aligned right for Dodgers' Orlando Hudson

"The thing I noticed about Brox is that last year he was sort of in between," Torre said. "Maybe the fact that Saito was there and it really wasn't his job. He was just tending to it."

Billingsley and Broxton answered the calls.

Billingsley won his first six starts. On May 14, he returned to the site of his playoff nightmare, firing seven innings of one-run ball in a 5-3 victory for the Dodgers in Philadelphia.

"I felt I was pretty consistent pitching," he said. "Even on days I didn't have my good stuff, I gave the team a chance to win."

He said the key is to try to limit damage and not try to be perfect.

"Especially with this lineup," Billingsley said. "There are times the offense might be struggling, but if you keep them within striking distance, you have a chance."

Broxton said playing in the World Baseball Classic prepared him for the emotional rigors of the season.

"It let me compete at a high level," Broxton said. "I started playing a little more competitive sooner. I had more time to prepare."

Broxton is 6-0 with a 3.10 earned-run average and has converted 20 of 22 save opportunities.

"This spring, he just grabbed the thing and went with it," Torre said.

So did Hudson, who dislocated his left wrist last season. The player who could barely find work this spring hit for the cycle in his first game at Dodger Stadium and went into the All-Star break hitting .283 despite getting only five hits in his last 43 at-bats.

He also has improved the Dodgers' defense and has helped the team win several close games, Torre said.

"Did I think it was going to happen?" Hudson said of his All-Star selection. "I'm not going to answer that question right now."

But he said he was certain of something.

"Anything's possible," he said. "If somebody tells you that anything's impossible, you have to be like, 'I don't know where you got that from.' Anything's possible."

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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com