Battery Provides a Jolt to Finish Dodger Sweep

Rookie catcher Russell Martin cradled a bottle of Dom Perignon. He had the good sense not to uncork it.

Had he done so, clubhouse curmudgeon Jeff Kent might have clocked him with it.

Certainly there was reason for jubilation. The Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-2, Sunday at Dodger Stadium for their first series sweep of the season.

Aaron Sele pitched effectively in place of Odalis Perez, notching his first victory in 11 months. Martin hit his first major league home run. Olmedo Saenz and Rafael Furcal also went deep.

The slumping Kent even had two hits and drove in two runs. Just don’t expect him to make like champagne and get all bubbly.

“It’s good to see us score some runs, but we’ll take this the same way we take the bad days,” he said.

For Martin’s information, the 1996 vintage is frothy and vibrant in the glass. It tastes of wheat and almond, with a hint of candied ginger, and has a tingly finish.

Someday, he might drink it. Then again ...

“It’s more of a keepsake, I think,” he said.

The champagne was a gift from teammate and fellow Canadian Eric Gagne, commemorating Martin’s first hit, a two-run double Friday night that helped get the Dodgers started on the modest three-game winning streak.

Martin has another gift -- the ability to block pitches in the dirt, no matter how vicious the bite or wicked the hop. He saved Sele twice in the second inning when the Brewers mounted their only serious threat against Sele, stopping errant breaking balls with a runner on third.

“When you have a catcher like that, you have no fear of burying a pitch in the dirt,” Sele said. “He made an outstanding play on a slider I yanked eight feet outside.”

Most of Sele’s 94 pitches were on the mark. He gave up five hits and walked one in 6 2/3 innings, and the Dodgers led 6-1 when he departed.

Brewer starter Ben Sheets was a late scratch because of a tender shoulder, and the Dodgers took advantage of his replacement, Dave Bush, who had pitched eight innings four days earlier.

Furcal led off the first with a single and scored. Martin homered with one out in the second, and Saenz capped a three-run third with a two-run homer. The Dodgers (15-17) poured it on against the Brewer bullpen and escaped last place in the National League West.

Sele, 35, knows all about clawing out of a hole. The 14-year veteran had last won June 15, was released by the Seattle Mariners on July 31 and signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers during the off-season.

He pitched well during spring training and was 3-0 in triple A. The Dodgers nearly released him anyway, but when Perez took bereavement leave last week, Sele had a job. For a pitcher who has made more than $50 million and played on a World Series championship team -- the 2002 Angels -- it still meant something.

“I love baseball, I enjoy playing the game,” he said. “I guess you could say the pressure is off. The only thing I want to be is a positive asset to the club.”

He did his best to ensure this isn’t a temp position. Manager Grady Little didn’t promise that Sele would remain in the rotation but did say the performance was “hard to ignore.”

A choice between Sele and Perez for a start Friday at San Francisco is not as obvious as it would appear. Perez defeated the Giants this season and was 2-0 against them last season.

Sele, who has made only five relief appearances in 344 major league appearances, said he is willing to go to the bullpen. Perez, whose 118 appearances in five seasons with the Dodgers have all been starts, hasn’t been asked that question.

For one day, at least, the Dodgers were appreciative of Sele.

“He is very composed, patient and experienced,” Kent said. “It’s a blessing to a pitching staff because you can feed off a guy who is that calm, collected and businesslike.”

High praise coming from the clubhouse curmudgeon.