Penny becomes NL's second nine-game winner

Dodgers 10, Blue Jays 1

TORONTO (AP) -- The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to have to make do without Jason Schmidt for a while. Fortunately for them, Brad Penny is still going strong.

Penny became the second nine-game winner in the National League, Russell Martin homered in his first major-league game in his native Canada and the Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-1 on Tuesday night.

"[Penny] was solid again tonight," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. "That's what it takes to win games."

Schmidt was placed on the disabled list Monday with a sore right shoulder. He'll undergo surgery Wednesday in Los Angeles and his return date in uncertain. Right-hander Chad Billingsley will start in Schmidt's place Thursday against Toronto.

"When you lose an ingredient like Jason Schmidt from the rotation, everyone else has got to step it up," Little said.

Luis Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with four RBIs for the Dodgers, who matched a season-high in runs.

"When you get contributions from the middle of the lineup like we did today, that's a good sign," Gonzalez said.

Martin, who was born in Toronto but grew up in Chelsea, Quebec, hit a solo home run to left in the sixth, his eighth, off reliever Lee Gronkiewicz.

"He shows us that day in and day out," Little said. "To be able to show that to his people up here, that's great."

With some 40 family and friends in attendance, Martin finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

"It's always fun playing at home in front of your family and fans," Martin said. "I don't think it could have been better."

Penny (9-1) allowed one run on six hits over seven innings to win his fourth straight decision. He walked one, struck out five and lowered his ERA to 2.12, second best in the NL.

"I got away with a lot of mistakes, to be honest with you," Penny said. "That was probably my worst location this year. I got away with a lot of stuff tonight."

Penny, who has not lost in six starts, joined Philadelphia's Cole Hamels as the only nine-game winners in the National League. His last defeat came May 18 at the Los Angeles Angels.

Like the Dodgers, the Blue Jays also got bad news about one of their starting pitchers before the game. Right-hander A.J. Burnett was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of pain in his shoulder.

Then Toronto right-hander Dustin McGowan went out and got pounded.

After Rafael Furcal opened the game by striking out, the next five batters reached base safely as Los Angeles built a 3-0 lead. Gonzalez and Jeff Kent had RBI singles and Marlon Anderson added a run-scoring grounder.

"After that, everything just kind of fell apart for [McGowan] and he left some balls up over the plate," Gonzalez said. "He had good velocity, his ball just wasn't moving."

McGowan was chased in the second after a walk and four straight singles led to three more Dodgers runs. Nomar Garciaparra, Gonzalez and Martin all had RBIs as Los Angeles took a 6-0 lead.

"Everything I threw was flat," McGowan said. "The sinker wasn't really sinking. It was just staying inside the zone."

McGowan (3-3) allowed six runs on eight hits in 1 2/3 innings, his shortest career start.

The Dodgers added three more in the fourth against reliever Jordan De Jong when Gonzalez hit a two-run double and scored on Anderson's single.

Toronto's only run came in the second when Troy Glaus doubled, went to third on a base hit by Matt Stairs and scored on Aaron Hill's fielder's choice.

Rudy Seanez relieved Penny and pitched a perfect eighth, and former Blue Jay Mark Hendrickson worked the ninth.

Game notes
Furcal was the only Dodgers player not to reach base. He went 0-for-5, struck out twice and grounded into a double play. ... The Blue Jays suffered their most lopsided defeat of the season. ... Making his major-league debut, Gronkiewicz allowed one run on two hits over four innings. He walked two and struck out two.