LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers might want to send a thank-you card to New York Mets pitcher John Maine for the fastball Maine delivered to Jeff Kent's earflap last Sunday.

It has knocked the Dodgers back into relevancy in the postseason picture.

Kent delivered key hits for the second consecutive night as the Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals, 4-3, on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers picked up another game on first-place Arizona and trail the Diamondbacks in the National League West by 4 games, the first time they have been that close since Aug. 7.

Granted, the Dodgers are cleaning up against the cellar-dwelling Nationals. But they have done what they are supposed to in this series with help from the veteran Kent.

His leadoff single set up two runs in the second, and he hit a solo home run in the third. Kent drove in a run on Monday and is 3 for 6 with two RBIs since he left the game Sunday on Maine's errant pitch.

"It always comes to the veterans you lean on, especially at the end of the year and what we're going through," Mark Sweeney said of Kent.

Kent had let up on the major-league leading .447 pace he hit in July but has come alive of late with eight hits in his past seven games.

Andre Ethier drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh. Jonathan Broxton retired the 3-4-5 hitters in order to set up Takashi Saito's perfect ninth.

The Dodgers reached six games above .500 for the first time since Aug.4.

"It's a combined effort out there," manager Grady Little said. "We just need to keep it going."

Chad Billingsley allowed three runs on eight hits with six strikeouts to pick up the victory. He benefited from three double plays, including one to end the third, and got an impressive stab at a line drive by third baseman Shea Hillenbrand in the seventh.

"It always nice," said Billingsley (9-4). "In previous starts I had long innings and the defense kind of falls asleep. But when you're constantly throwing strikes it makes it easier for them."

Washington starter Jason Bergmann was hit early in his first start since July 24. Kent singled to lead off the Dodgers' second and took second on the play when Bergmann committed a throwing error to first base.

James Loney hit a single deep at shortstop that never left the infield to load the bases, and Shea Hillenbrand singled in Russell Martin and Kent to put the Dodgers up, 2-1.

Bergmann got the first two outs of the third before Kent hit an 0-1 pitch into the left-field bleachers for a 3-1 lead.

It was Kent's 362nd career home run, which surpassed Joe DiMaggio for 65th all-time.

Tony Batista homered — his third career pinch-hit home run — to right field to tie it at 3-3 in the seventh.

The Dodgers came back when Sweeney doubled in the seventh. Rafael Furcal drew a walk and Juan Pierre reached on an error when his ground ball up the middle off left-hander Ray King got away from shortstop Felipe Lopez.

Ethier's sacrifice fly to center brought in Sweeney.