Garciaparra is back as Dodgers breeze

He had to wait a little longer than expected, but Dodgers Manager Joe Torre finally got a look Wednesday at the lineup he thought he’d start the season with.

His reaction? Better late than never.

That’s because with third baseman Nomar Garciaparra coming off the disabled list to make his debut 15 games into the schedule, the suddenly resurgent Dodgers offense pounded out a season-high 15 hits to roll past the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-1.

“It worked well,” Torre said. “The top of the lineup did a lot of damage.”

“It’s not a surprise. I’m happy to see it.”

And the Dodgers did more than just hit. They also got a solid effort from right-hander Brad Penny, who gave up only an unearned run through 5 2/3 innings, 3 1/3 scoreless innings from their bullpen and some sterling defense from right fielder Matt Kemp, who threw out Xavier Nady at the plate in the second inning, before the game became a rout.

Garciaparra’s contributions were minimal -- he walked twice and singled in four plate appearances, and committed a fielding error before leaving for a pinch-runner in the seventh. What they represented for a team that started the season with four players on the DL, however, was significant.

“We’re starting to get whole,” Torre said.

Garciaparra fractured a bone in his right hand during the Dodgers’ 10th spring training game, landing him on the disabled list for opening day. But after a three-game minor league rehab assignment, Garciaparra returned to Los Angeles on Tuesday and to the lineup Wednesday.

Torre wasn’t expecting Garciaparra back until Friday. But when the six-time All-Star said he was ready Wednesday, the manager immediately wrote his name into the lineup.

“We might as well throw him out there,” said Torre, who waited until Garciaparra got through batting practice unscathed before formally activating him. “If we’re going to do it Friday anyway, there’s nothing really to prevent him from playing [Wednesday]. He’s not going to get any better by Friday.”

By the time Garciaparra came to bat for the first time, the Dodgers had a 3-0 lead, opening the game with four consecutive singles followed by a sacrifice fly from James Loney. They scored another run in the first on Juan Pierre’s RBI bunt single, then put the game away in the second on Rafael Furcal’s homer and another scoring fly ball from Loney, who later singled to run his hitting streak to 15 games.

The last Dodger with a longer streak? Garciaparra, who hit in 22 straight in 2006.

“It was a good time,” Garciaparra said. “It’s always good when you win. It was good to be part of that again. I hope there will be a lot more like that.”

Before it was over, every starter but Penny had at least one hit -- and five of them had at least two. Even catcher Russell Martin, who was hitting .103 a week ago, had two hits for the second time in three nights, raising his average to a season-best .208. Furcal matched a career best with four hits, raising his average to .407.

Add it all up and the Dodgers finished with at least 10 hits for the fifth time in six games, raising the team average for the six-game homestand to .327. They’ve also averaged 6 1/2 runs a game in their last two series, though they managed just a split of the six games and head to Atlanta today a game under .500 on the season.

They are, however, undefeated with Garciaparra in the lineup -- the lineup Torre imagined he’d start the season with.

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kevin.baxter@latimes.com