Dodgers take a big hit, get runs

Brad Penny pitched well again Tuesday and the Dodgers’ offense experienced the kind of breakthrough that General Manager Ned Colletti said he had been longing for every day he came to the ballpark.

The result was a 10-1 romp over the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, a rare interleague road victory for a team that had lost 20 of its previous 21 games against American League teams away from Dodger Stadium.

But Penny cannot pitch for the Dodgers every day, a fact that made the news that Jason Schmidt would require exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder all the more unnerving for a team whose rotation suffers a steep drop-off after Penny and Derek Lowe.

A timetable for Schmidt’s recovery will not be known until after the procedure is performed today in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

“It’s very discouraging,” said Colletti.

The relief corps also suffered a loss when it was announced that Yhency Brazoban would undergo surgery Friday for a torn labrum and could be out the remainder of the season.

Schmidt opted for surgery after Stan Conte, the Dodgers’ director of medical services, acknowledged that “the conservative approach has failed.”

After signing a three-year, $47-million contract, Schmidt made three starts before going on the disabled list in April because of shoulder inflammation. The Dodgers hoped that the right-hander could build the stamina he needed for a successful return through rest and rehabilitation, and their wishes were momentarily granted when Schmidt pitched six scoreless innings against San Diego earlier this month.

But Schmidt faltered in two successive starts, and his fastball dipped into the mid-80-mph range. Though Schmidt insisted he wasn’t feeling any pain after his most recent start Saturday against the Angels, Conte acknowledged that Schmidt was experiencing some discomfort.

Chad Billingsley will take Schmidt’s spot in the rotation, and Colletti said he would see how his starters fared over the next few weeks before deciding whether to target another pitcher before the trading deadline.

Colletti also called his search for a bat that could boost his offense a “precarious endeavor,” noting that many of the players available via trade were experiencing slumps mirroring those of the players already on the Dodgers’ roster.

“What’s confounding to me is that I still believe there’s more offense inside the club that’s here,” Colletti said. “The part that gets difficult is, how long do you wait for it to show up? Every day I come to the ballpark hoping that’s the day it turns on.”

The Dodgers turned it on full blast Tuesday, scoring three runs in the first inning and three more in the second off Dustin McGowan (3-3), who had held them to two runs in seven innings last week during a Blue Jays victory at Dodger Stadium.

Luis Gonzalez had three hits and drove in four runs, and Russell Martin homered and drove in two runs in his first game in his native Canada. Before the game the catcher conducted interviews in English and French with about 15 Canadian reporters, and about 40 friends and family attended the game.

Penny (9-1) gave up six hits and one run in seven innings to join Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels as the only nine-game winners in the National League. Penny also has both of the Dodgers’ interleague road victories dating to 2005, with the rest of the staff going a combined 0-20.

“When you lose an ingredient like Jason Schmidt from the rotation for whatever period it is,” Dodgers Manager Grady Little said, “it’s good to see Brad step it up like he did.”

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ben.bolch@latimes.com