SAN DIEGO -- It's not as sensational as stacking a lineup with mashers, but the Dodgers' offseason strategy of loading up on pitching kept them in first place Sunday with a marathon, 17-inning, 5-4 win over the Padres.

The entire bullpen pitched more than a complete-game one-hit shutout in relief of Derek Lowe, six members stringing 10 2/3 scoreless innings on only one single after the seventh inning. The Dodgers' bench finally won it, Brady Clark doubling home Wilson Valdez from first base with two outs.

The Dodgers have beaten San Diego four of six so far this year after winning only five of 18 last year.

"That's good for reading, but these are different teams," said Dodgers manager Grady Little. "There are a lot of good clubs in our division."

For the past two weeks, the Dodgers have been the best. The bullpen is as much a reason as anything, and it's more than just Takashi Saito, perfect as a closer this year, who retired all six batters he faced Sunday in the 14th and 15th innings.

"There are a lot of different intangibles we can run at you late in a game," said Luis Gonzalez, who slugged back-to-back homers with Jeff Kent as the Dodgers staked Lowe to a 4-1 lead in the third inning. "They had a lot of '0-fers' from key players. This should be a huge lift to Chad Billingsley. I looked up and saw him throwing 97 [mph] late in the game. When you go up there in a game like this, guys are tired and they see that, it's discouraging on the other side."

Billingsley has been the one teetering on discouraging lately. He entered in the 16th inning with a 6.94 ERA, more than 2.5 runs higher than the next Dodgers pitcher. He went 1-2-3 in the 16th, was given the unearned run by his offense to protect, then had to overcome a one-out fielding error by third baseman Ramon Martinez.

Billingsley responded by striking out the side, validating Little's confidence in the transformed starter.

"I've been struggling the last few days, not throwing like I did before," said Billingsley. "Today I was pitching, rather than throwing. I haven't been setting up hitters, haven't been moving the ball around, changing eye levels, pitching inside. I've been staying down and away and the hitters pick up on it. Today I elevated and moved it in and out."

Billingsley (2-0) followed Saito, who followed two scoreless innings from Rudy Seanez, who followed two scoreless innings from Rudy Seanez, after two more scoreless innings from Chi-hui Tsao, that followed 1 2/3 innings from Jonathan Broxton, who came on following one shutout inning from Joe Beimel. The Dodgers' team ERA, 4.23 for all of 2006, is 3.21 after 25 games.

Padres relievers were up to the duel. Taking over for David Wells after five innings, they went 12 innings without allowing an earned run, the game-winner set up by first baseman Pete Laforest's error.

Valdez, who entered the game the previous inning, bunted in front of the plate trying for a hit. The ball was fielded by catcher Rob Bowen and his throw to first beat Valdez, but Laforest dropped it. Clark then lined a 1-2 pitch from Justin Hampson (0-1) into the left-field corner. Third-base Rich Donnelly coach sent Valdez, and he barely beat shortstop Khalil Greene's relay to the plate.

"He threw me a curveball I swung and missed the pitch before, and he came back with another curve and I was still a little bit fooled, but got it down the line," said Clark, a pull hitter who drew a rare start in place of right fielder Andre Ethier because the left-handed Wells was starting. "This is my role, to be ready for anything. I might not play for three or four days, then I might play 17 innings."

The Dodgers got to Wells for four runs the first three innings. The two-run first inning included a leadoff double by Rafael Furcal, a bunt single by Juan Pierre that triggered a throwing error from Wells, one of two Pierre stolen bases and an RBI single by Russell Martin.

San Diego responded with a run in the first, two more in the third, then tied it after Lowe walked No. 8 hitter Geoff Blum leading off the seventh inning and Marcus Giles singled him home.

The game lasted five minutes short of five hours and was the longest in time and innings in PETCO Park's short history.

The Dodgers had 16 hits, seven more than the Padres, and at least one from each of the eight position starters. However, they stranded 15 runners and were only 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position.