They’re first in flight heading to San Diego

The Dodgers’ clubhouse was nearly empty Monday when outfielder Andre Ethier came out of the shower wearing nothing but a smile and a towel around his waist.

“I’m going back to Cali Cali,” he sang, reprising the LL Cool J song to no one in particular.

And though Ethier and the Dodgers rode back to California fighting a head wind, they also had momentum at their backs following Monday’s 6-5 defeat of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a victory that gave them nine wins in their last 12 games, six wins in their last seven series and a 34-23 record -- a season-high 11 games over .500.

It also gives the first-place Dodgers a half-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres heading into tonight’s first of three games in San Diego -- a series that, since it’s only June, none of the Dodgers are calling crucial. But they’re not looking past it either.

“It’s very important,” said pitcher Derek Lowe, who came within nine outs of a no-hitter, eight of a shutout and four of a complete game, before waiting out a shaky ninth inning from interim closer Jonathan Broxton to claim his sixth win of the season.

“Every game’s huge,” added catcher Russell Martin, whose eighth-inning solo home run proved to be the difference. “You can’t let any games go, especially when you’re playing in your own division. That’s when you want to try to get some Ws, [open] some space.”

The Dodgers and Padres fought to a draw in the standings last season and haven’t been separated by more than three games at any time this season, which only underscores the importance of this week’s series.

“There’s not a lot of margin for error,” outfielder Luis Gonzalez said. “We’re in the third month of the season so now everything kind of gets played up a little bit more.”

And the Dodgers, who weren’t scheduled to get to San Diego until early this morning, have an ace up their sleeve for tonight’s opener: Right-hander Jason Schmidt will return from the disabled list to make his first start in seven weeks.

“If he comes back good,” Gonzalez said, “it’s almost like making a trade.”

Lowe pitched like an ace Monday, taking a no-hitter into the seventh. But he walked the first hitter, then gave up a ground single up the middle to Freddy Sanchez. An error and a long homer by Xavier Nady later, the Pirates had scored three times, cutting into a 5-0 Dodgers lead.

“Lowe was great,” Dodgers Manager Grady Little said. “I thought that was the best stuff I’d seen him have since he threw a no-hitter in Boston for me. And it lasted a pretty long while.”

Lowe (6-5) actually may have lost his chance at a no-hitter in the Dodgers’ half of the seventh when his teammates kept him on the bench for 18 minutes by sending seven men to the plate, scoring three times. Rafael Furcal had the big blow, driving in two with a double off center fielder Chris Duffy’s glove.

Lowe left with two outs in the eighth after giving up his third hit, a solo homer to left by Jose Bautista.

Victory must have seemed a long way away as the Dodgers watched Broxton, closing while Takashi Saito nurses a sore left hamstring, stumble through a rough ninth in which he gave up a run on two hits and a walk before finally getting the final out with the tying run at third.

“You get a little more adrenaline going in the ninth inning,” Broxton said. “I feel like I was overthrowing a little bit. Fortunately I was able to settle down and we won the game.”

kevin.baxter@latimes.com