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07/29/06 2:49 AM ET

Dodgers drub Nationals to snap skid

Los Angeles uses three homers to end eight-game slide

Rookie Chad Billingsley earned his second career victory, settling down after a mound chat with manager Grady Little. (Branimir Kvartuc/AP)
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LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. After eight straight games of silence, there were finally smiles and music coming from the clubhouse.

Hours before turning 22, Chad Billingsley earned his second win of the season, his first at Dodger Stadium, and summed up the night's results in one sentence.

"It feels good to get this win since struggling since the All-Star Break," Billingsley said.

Amid a trade, a grand slam and a Steve Garvey bobblehead giveaway, there was Los Angeles' first win in nine games, a 13-1 pounding of Washington on Friday night in front of a sellout crowd of 55,825. The offense finally made an appearance at Chavez Ravine this homestand, and it made sure it was heard.

J.D. Drew broke a 42-game stretch without a home run with a grand slam in the fourth inning that put the game away. Andre Ethier and Cesar Izturis also went deep on a night when all but one of the starting nine scored a run and had a hit.

Everyone in the starting lineup reached first base by the end of the fourth inning. By that time, Los Angeles had an 11-1 lead.

"I'd say it feels pretty good," manager Grady Little said. "We're most proud of Billingsley getting those six innings and J.D. hitting the ball over the fence. It's something we've been looking for, something he's [Drew] been looking for. It takes something off his shoulders and makes him feel a little better."

By the time Drew stepped up to the plate in the fourth, the Dodgers had already chased Nationals starter Tony Armas out of the game. Reliever Roy Corcoran took the mound and gave up back-to-back walks to Billingsley and Rafael Furcal. Kenny Lofton's single to right loaded the bases for Drew with nobody out.

As the left-field pavilion flashed Drew's numbers on grand slams, the right fielder slammed the first pitch he saw. Drew's third career grand slam -- his first since 2003 -- fell into the right-field stands and put the Dodgers up 10-1.

"It's a good feeling," Drew said before he described his homerless drought. "You're in there, and it's something where you've just been trying to manufacture runs and you just get pressed.

"It was a key at-bat where I had some guys on base. I didn't really get ahead. I tried to keep it level and hit the ball hard."

He wasn't the only one. Ethier's two-run home run to right field in the second gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead after the Nationals had manufactured a run in the top of the inning. Izturis drove a 2-2 pitch into the right-field bullpen in the third. His first home run since July 28 last year -- a year to the date -- extended the lead to 6-1.

Russell Martin went 3-for-5 with three runs and an RBI. Izturis finished with a 2-for-5 night, two runs and two RBIs. The Dodgers batted around twice.

Washington seemed to do its best to help Los Angeles out of its slump, as well. The Nationals made three errors and walked five -- with Olmedo Saenz hit twice on the night.

Armas left after three innings and six runs. He was tagged for seven hits in his sixth loss. Corcoran gave up six runs -- five earned -- and walked three. Billingsley found some trouble himself in the second inning, where his pitch count took the heaviest toll.

The rookie right-hander walked Austin Kearns, and with two outs, he walked Ryan Church. Schneider followed with an RBI single to center. Little came out to speak with Billingsley, and the righty seemed to settle down. It didn't hurt that by the time he took the mound again, the Dodgers had a three-run lead.

"It made me confident to pitch," Billingsley said of the run support. "I still wanted to work out there and get ahead of hitters and hit the zone."

Billingsley did have his usual high number of walks (five), and he threw 111 pitches. The bullpen pitched three scoreless innings, and Brett Tomko made his return to the mound with a 1-2-3, eight-pitch seventh.

Elizabeth Aguilar is an associate reporter with MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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