updated 9:32 a.m. ET May 2, 2007

LOS ANGELES - The only player in the Dodgers’ clubhouse who was happier than Olmedo Saenz was Andre Ethier, whose ill-advised dive in right field on an uncatchable ball led to the tying run and set the stage for Saenz’s game-winning hit.

Saenz singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning and Los Angeles beat Arizona 2-1 Tuesday night to snap the Diamondbacks’ six-game winning streak.

“Sometimes you’re the goat and sometimes you’re the hero — and tonight the goat got picked up by the hero,” Ethier said.

Jonathan Broxton was pitching in the eighth for Los Angeles when Eric Byrnes hit a sinking line drive to right field with one out and the ball bounced past the diving Ethier for a triple.

“I saw it all the way and I just made a good, aggressive approach on it. That’s the way I play out there,” the second-year outfielder said. “The ball didn’t happen to carry as far as I thought it would. I made a mistake and I’ll learn from it. But I’m not going to shy away from doing that or become tentative, because I’ll take more away than I’ll give away. I guess it was just the wrong time to try and make that play — in a 1-0 game.”

The Dodgers pulled the infield in against .346-hitting Orlando Hudson, who drove in Byrnes with a single to center.

“You don’t really feel bad for yourself in that situation. You feel for Brad Penny. He deserved to win that game and he didn’t get a decision,” Ethier said.

Rafael Furcal led off the ninth with a single against Brandon Lyon (2-1), then advanced to third on Juan Pierre’s sacrifice and Wilson Valdez’s groundout. Jeff Kent was intentionally walked in front of Saenz, who drove a 1-1 pitch up the middle while batting for reliever Takashi Saito.

Saito (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth inning for the victory, the sixth by the Dodgers’ bullpen against one loss.

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Penny outpitched Livan Hernandez with six innings of three-hit ball in their first head-to-head matchup and lowered his ERA to 1.64. Penny and Hernandez each won a World Series ring with the Florida Marlins — Penny in 2003 and Hernandez in 1997 when he was Series MVP.

“I knew that when you pitch against him, you’ve got to be at the top of your game — and you still might not win,” Penny said. “He always pitches deep into the game and he’s not scared to throw 130-something pitches. He’s smart and he never gives in — even with me up there. Bases loaded, 1-0 count, he throws me a slider. He’s probably the only guy who would do that.”

Penny struck out four and did not allow a hit after Byrnes singled with two outs in the third. All four of the right-hander’s walks came with two outs.

“I don’t mind walking them, as long as they don’t score,” Penny said. “I left some balls up. But at the same time, you don’t want to throw a pitch right over the middle of the plate. I tried to get them to swing and be more aggressive.”

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