Hard Day’s Night for Dodgers

Forty years ago to the day, the visiting team at Dodger Stadium was from Liverpool and tens of thousands of shrieking teenagers showed up to hear the four mop-tops known as The Beatles.

“Some girls worked themselves into such a frenzy, they fainted and had to be carried away,” former Dodgers official Brent Shyer wrote in a memoir.

The closest anyone comes to that kind of emotion these days is volatile pitcher Brad Penny, who could have been described as a Nowhere Man or The Fool on the Hill after recent tantrums.

But Penny and rookie Jonathan Broxton commemorated the anniversary of the Beatles’ next-to-last concert by exhibiting some rubber soul, pitching out of several jams in a 6-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night.

After the Reds rallied for four runs in the eighth and put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, Broxton struck out Scott Hatteberg with a full-count breaking pitch.

Manager Grady Little stayed with Broxton in the ninth because closer Takashi Saito, the 36-year-old Japanese rookie who gained acceptance by singing the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” in the clubhouse during spring training, had pitched the previous three days.

Broxton walked Ken Griffey Jr. with one out and gave up a single to Todd Hollandsworth with two out. At bat was Brandon Phillips, whose two-run home run had pulled the Reds within one run in the eighth.

There was certainly frenzy, although no word on fainting. Broxton struck out Phillips looking.

“I don’t know where we’d be without him,” Penny said of Broxton. “He’s a tough kid and he’s only getting better.”

A crowd of 44,176 watched the Dodgers extend their lead in the division to three games and pushed season attendance over 3 million for the 11th consecutive season and 21st season since the stadium opened in 1962.

Penny survived walks in the first two innings, got a double-play grounder to end the third after walking the bases loaded, gave up only one run in the fourth despite giving up three hits to the first four batters and stranded a runner at second in the fifth.

“I tried to stay composed,” Penny said. “I was erratic but our defense stayed in it even when I was walking people.”

He exited early because he’d thrown 104 pitches but tied a career high with his 14th victory with a little help from his friends -- especially the younger Dodgers hitters.

Rookie catcher Russell Martin hit a two-run home run in the second inning, rookie left fielder Andre Ethier had three hits to raise his batting average to .339, and second-year outfielder Jason Repko had three hits and drove in two runs.

Martin’s eighth home run came two batters after Ethier’s first hit and several hours after Martin was the only regular to take early batting practice, despite having caught 33 innings the previous three days.

“My bat speed hasn’t been the same,” he said. “I’m missing pitches I hit hard a few weeks ago.”

The lead grew to 4-1 in the fourth when Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent hit consecutive ground-rule doubles and Ethier singled, then to 6-1 in the seventh when Repko singled in Kent and Ethier.

But the Reds scored twice on three hits against Elmer Dessens in the eighth, and with one out Brett Tomko gave up a two-run home run to Phillips, then walked the next two batters. Broxton came on and retired Ryan Freel on a force out before striking out Hatteberg.

The Dodgers could have put the game away several times but were thwarted by strong Reds defense and their own poor baserunning.

Shortstop Rich Aurilia dived to spear a line drive by Kenny Lofton with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth, although the Dodgers hurt themselves when Martin was needlessly caught between third and home after Repko hustled to second during a rundown.

Kent hit sharply into a double play with two on in the fifth, and runners were stranded at second and third in the fourth when Rafael Furcal’s line drive was caught by a leaping Hatteberg at first base.

“This was a hard game to win,” Little said. “We had some timely hits and good plays out there, and Penny and Broxton did a heck of a job. Penny was pumped up but he stayed cool. It was good to see.”