LOS ANGELES -- In the wake of Tuesday night's marathon victory, winning reliever Derek Lowe said he will make his regularly scheduled start Friday night, but it's not clear whether Mark Hendrickson is even still a starting pitcher.

"He had a bad game last night and we'll see how that goes," Dodgers manager Grady Little said of Hendrickson, who was staked to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and was removed after allowing singles to the first three Reds batters in the fifth inning. Hendrickson finished with four runs allowed in four-plus innings.

"I'm not really sure what we'll do with that yet," Little said. "Right now, it's Hendrickson, until I make a decision otherwise."

Little said Greg Maddux would start Monday's game in Milwaukee, so Hendrickson's turn would come up Tuesday.

One likely candidate to take that start is left-handed rookie Hong-Chih Kuo, who was promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday and reported 90 minutes before the game after flying in from Colorado Springs. To make room for Kuo, left-hander Tim Hamulack was optioned to Class A Vero Beach. Hamulack will be able to return to the Dodgers on Monday, after the Vero Beach season ends.

As for Lowe, he pitched the final three innings of Tuesday night's 16-inning win, allowing one hit.

"Hopefully, that's a turning-point game," he said. "One of the bigger wins of the year."

Lowe said his left hand, drilled by a line drive Saturday, was still sore, but did not negatively impact his pitching.

"[Catcher Russell Martin] was very nice throwing the ball back to me," he said.

Nor did the injury impact Lowe's batting, as he walked in his only plate appearance against Bill Bray, even though Lowe had no intention of swinging with his sore hand.

"I kept telling them I wasn't swinging, but I looked hitterish, didn't I?" he said. "I took fake practice swings, put pine tar on the bat. That .094 average must have put the fear of God in people."

Hendrickson's four-plus innings were particularly disappointing coming off his best start as a Dodger in San Diego. He is 1-6 with a 5.07 ERA since being acquired from the Devil Rays.

Kuo, demoted for a second time July 4 because of inconsistency in relief, was told to start for Las Vegas to get more innings to improve his command. He's been so successful since, that he's again being considered as a starter, which he originally was until blowing out his elbow and requiring two Tommy John operations. Because of the elbow history, management believed he would be better suited in relief. Kuo is not so sure.

"I feel more comfortable when I can warm up before a game," said Kuo, who added that his longest start for the 51s was 96 pitches.

Hamulack, pitched two scoreless innings Tuesday night and has made three scoreless appearances since being promoted after Friday night's 15-inning loss in Arizona.

More relief: You can't always tell a reliever by his ERA.

In Tuesday night's marathon, Aaron Sele allowed a run in two innings of relief of Hendrickson, but without Sele's performance in the fifth inning, Ramon Martinez wouldn't have had the chance to hit a walk-off home run.

Sele inherited a bases-loaded, no-outs mess from Hendrickson and retired the next three hitters on ground balls, putting down the inning while holding the damage (one run) to a minimum.

"The way it turned out, I'm happy," said Sele. "I'm a contact pitcher. I want them to put balls in play."

Nomar struggling: With Jeff Kent getting a planned night off, slumping Nomar Garciaparra was dropped to fifth in the batting order, with Julio Lugo third and J.D. Drew fourth. Garciaparra is hitting .262 since returning from the disabled list after straining his knee.

Garciaparra last batted fifth on May 1.

Opportunities few and far between: Tuesday night's win included a walk-off homer by Martinez and three hits and a sacrifice fly by Toby Hall, both relatively forgotten men on the roster.

"Who knows?" Martinez said, when asked if his heroics would earn back playing time lost to Lugo. "This is what I'm here for. I just stay ready for when they need me."

Hall, who spent the majority of his career losing in Tampa Bay, said his reduced role is somewhat mitigated by the heightened importance of a pennant race.

"I'm not saying it's easy to go in there like this, but this atmosphere is neat, knowing every at-bat counts," said Hall, who had two doubles Tuesday. "Now, even when I'm not playing, just watching, you know that every game means something, and I'm not used to that. So you want to make every at-bat the best you can every time. It's refreshing to be around this."

Loney honored: First-base prospect James Loney is the only member of the 51s named to this year's All-Pacific Coast League team. Loney is leading the league with a .383 batting average. The only other Las Vegas Sun to win a PCL batting crown was John Kruk in 1985 at .351.

Loney has been called up to Los Angeles twice this year and is expected to make a third trip when rosters expand Friday.

Also expected to be promoted are infielder Andy LaRoche, outfielder Matt Kemp, catcher Einar Diaz and probably reliever Giovanni Carrara, who is still designated for assignment. The promotions will be staggered over the next week.

Coming up: After a scheduled day off Thursday, the Dodgers will open a three-game series at Chavez Ravine against Colorado on Friday night, with Lowe (12-8, 3.75 ERA) opposing Jason Jennings (7-11, 3.48 ERA).