Dodgers beat D'Backs 8-3, Haren has worst outing since '06

Los Angeles Dodgers' Derek Lowe connects with a bunt in the fourth inning of an MLB baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Wednesday, April 23, 2008 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

LOS ANGELES—James Loney had a pair of RBI singles, Chin-lung Hu singled home two more runs and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-3 Wednesday night to hand Dan Haren his first loss of the season.

Derek Lowe (2-1) pitched just five innings for the victory, allowing a run and three hits with two strikeouts and a walk. The right-hander was removed for precautionary reasons because of tightness in his elbow, but is expected to make his next scheduled start.

Reliever Chan Ho Park allowed a walk and a double by Justin Upton to open the seventh.

Lefty Joe Beimel gave up an RBI single to Chris Snyder, trimming the Dodgers' lead to 6-2. But Jonathan Broxton struck out Chris Young with the bases loaded after walking pinch-hitter Miguel Montero, then retired Eric Byrnes on a popup with the potential tying run at the plate.

Takashi Saito relieved Broxton with two on and two outs in the eighth and gave up an RBI single to Stephen Drew, but managed to get four outs for his second save.

Haren was charged with six runs -- five earned -- and nine hits in 4 2-3 innings, striking out five and walking two. It was the most runs the right-hander allowed in 42 regular-season starts since Sept. 18, 2006, when he gave up seven over 4 2-3 innings in a 7-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians at Oakland.

Arizona's Randy Johnson, whose next start is scheduled for Friday, remained in Phoenix to undergo a periodic MRI on his back and will rejoin the Diamondbacks in San Diego.

The five-time Cy Young winner, who turns 45 in September and is 16 victories shy of 300, has had two operations to repair a herniated disc -- one in October 2006 and another last August. Manager Bob Melvin doesn't think it's any cause for alarm.

"He has MRIs that are on the schedule every now and then -- just to see what's going on in there in case anything is moving around. So this one was kind of on the docket," Melvin said. "It's for peace of mind, as much as anything else."

The Diamondbacks, who had outscored their opponents 23-6 in the first inning through their first 20 games, fell behind 2-0 as Haren needed 30 pitches to record his first three outs. Rafael Furcal singled, then stole second and third with two outs. Nomar Garciaparra hit an RBI single, advanced on a walk to Russell Martin and scored on Loney's single.

The Dodgers scored their final two runs in the eighth when with two outs Upton tried to one-hand Loney's routine flyball to right field and the bases loaded and missed it.

The NL West-leading Diamondbacks, who swept the Dodgers in a three-game series two weeks ago at Phoenix, got their first run on Drew's fifth-inning homer.

Andruw Jones, who went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts on his 31st birthday, was the sixth different player Dodgers manager Joe Torre has started in the No.2 spot. The slumping Jones already has batted in six different slots in the starting lineup.

Notes:@ Haren's only other start at Dodger Stadium was on July 19, 2003, with St. Louis, when he beat Kevin Brown 3-1 for his first big league victory. ... Saito got to bat for the first time in 142 big league games and took a called third strike from Yusmeiro Petit in the eighth. ... Arizona's loss ended a streak of 17 games in which the defending NL West champions had scored four or more runs.