Penny plays the ace card

This was like driving the station wagon to work so that the sports car would stay spotless for the big date.

The Dodgers held Brad Penny back a day so that their ace could start the opener of a crucial series against Arizona, and the hulking right-hander revved into overdrive during an 8-1 victory over the Diamondbacks on Monday night at Chase Field.

Penny pitched a season-high eight innings to become the National League’s first 10-game winner and sparked a four-run sixth inning with a double as the Dodgers opened a seven-game stretch against division rivals in promising fashion.

The Dodgers surged into second place in the NL West, half a game behind Arizona and half a game ahead of San Diego.

More maneuvering is in the works for the Dodgers, who announced earlier in the day that they were moving first baseman Nomar Garciaparra to third base, with the switch expected to take place as soon as Friday.

Rookie first baseman James Loney provided a glimpse of the impetus for the move with a two-run, pinch-hit triple in the ninth inning to raise his batting average to .448. He has nine runs batted in in 11 games since being promoted from triple-A Las Vegas.

Penny (10-1) gave up four hits and one run, on Chris Young’s fourth-inning double that gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead. He struck out four, walked two and retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced.

“It’s good to start a series like that with your ace going, and he didn’t disappoint,” said Luis Gonzalez, whose run-scoring single in the sixth put the Dodgers ahead to stay.

Penny actually hasn’t benefited -- at least statistically -- from the juggling that has allowed him to pitch on five days’ rest this season. In five starts with extra rest, he’s 4-1 with a 2.70 earned-run average. On regular rest, he’s 6-0 with a 1.74 ERA.

Penny said he approached pitching coach Rick Honeycutt about the latest manipulation of the rotation that allowed him to start against Arizona.

“Any time you can pitch against your division, it counts as two games instead of one sometimes,” Penny said.

The pitcher also served as a capable leadoff hitter Monday, opening the Dodgers’ decisive sixth with a double into the left-field corner and going to third on Rafael Furcal’s infield single.

Juan Pierre then hit a potential double-play ball to shortstop Stephen Drew, but the ball bounced off Drew’s chest for an error, putting runners on first and second with nobody out and a run in.

Micah Owings (5-2) retired the next two batters before Gonzalez lined his run-scoring single to right and Russell Martin followed with a two-run triple to right-center that gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead.

Wilson Betemit, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the sixth, homered in the eighth to end an 0-for-18 skid and continue a puzzling trend in which the slumping third baseman has excelled upon learning of a demotion. In early May, after being replaced by rookie Andy LaRoche, Betemit homered in consecutive pinch-hit at-bats.

About the only negative for the Dodgers was that second baseman Jeff Kent had to leave in the sixth after fouling a ball off the big toe on his left foot. X-rays were negative, and Kent is listed as day to day.

The Dodgers were happy to return to more familiar confines during the final leg of a three-city, 11-day trip in which they have already logged 5,066 miles. They were 5-10 in interleague play, having most recently lost a series against the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

“We like the time zone,” Dodgers Manager Grady Little said. “We like to see the pitchers going up there to hit, whether they’re ours or the other team’s.

“We’re certainly glad that part of the season is past.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com