LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks aren't thinking about a pennant race -- yet.

"I try to stay away from thinking about big series' in June. I'm sure that's the mindset of a player," Brian Anderson said Monday night after the Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 in the opener of a four-game series between NL West rivals.

	Brian Anderson's key to victory was starting a 1-2-3 double play in the sixth that got him out of a bases-loaded jam.

Travis Lee homered and drove in two runs, and Anderson won for the 12th time in 13 decisions, helping the Diamondbacks snap a five-game road losing streak in front of only 25,552.

The victory gave the defending NL West champs a two-game lead over idle Colorado and a four-game margin over the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks are 12-15 since a nine-game winning streak that gave them a 6½-game cushion in the standings.

"You want this kind of series, and you want it now and start making your run right now," said Gary Sheffield, who drove in the Dodgers' first run with a first-inning single. "You don't really want to depend on other teams. You want to do it yourself. They had their way with us in the first series at that place, and hopefully, we can do the same to them at our place."

Anderson (6-1) allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings, after surrendering a club-record nine earned runs over 5 2/3 innings last Wednesday at Chicago.

The left-hander struck out four, walked two and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth -- starting a 1-2-3 double play after fielding Chad Kreuter's comebacker and then striking out Jose Vizcaino.

Vicente Padilla pitched two perfect innings, and Byung-Hyun Kim got three outs for his ninth save in 11 opportunities.

The Dodgers did not have another baserunner after loading the bases with no outs in the sixth.

With catcher Todd Hundley already on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his right side, the Dodgers nearly lost Kreuter in the third inning when Arizona took a 2-1 lead against Darren Dreifort (4-4).

Turner Ward led off with a double, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a safety-squeeze bunt by Anderson that followed a walk to Kelly Stinnett to tie it at 1.

Tony Womack's single sent Stinnett to third, and he scored the go-ahead run when Womack's takeout slide at second broke up a potential double-play grounder by Craig Counsell.

Shortstop Kevin Elster made a wild relay throw to the home side of first base on the play, and Kreuter appeared to jam his left (non-throwing) thumb diving to keep the ball from rolling into the dugout. He was looked over by assistant trainer Matt Wilson and allowed to stay in.

Dreifort was charged with four runs, three earned, and five hits in seven innings.

Dreifort beat out Anderson for the 1993 Golden Spikes Award as the nation's top amateur player. He and Anderson were picked second and third overall in the '93 draft -- Dreifort by the Dodgers out of Wichita State, and Anderson by the Angels out of Wright State in Dayton, Ohio.

Anderson, who was Dreifort's roommate on the 1992 Olympic team and was cut just before Dreifort and the rest of the squad left for Barcelona, Spain, is 2-0 against Dreifort in the majors -- including a 3-0 victory last July that began his streak of 11 consecutive winning decisions.

"It's always fun going out and competing against him, but I'd also like to be able to sit back and watch him pitch on his own and not have to face him," Anderson said. "I've been fortunate to be on the winning end two times, but it very easily could have been the other way."

The Diamondbacks made it 3-1 in the fourth. Matt Williams reached on a fielding error at third by Vizcaino, stole his first base of the season and scored on Lee's double.

Elster closed it to 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth with his 10th homer. Lee regained the Diamondbacks' two-run lead in the sixth with his seventh home run, his first since coming off the disabled list last Friday.

Game notes
Arizona's relievers have retired 25 consecutive batters, and can get the equivalent of a perfect game if Mike Morgan can retire his first two batters Tuesday night. Morgan, who has converted all five save opportunities, will be making his second start of the season. ... Comedian Jon Lovitz served as public address announcer during the second inning and announced the starting lineups. Lovitz also has worked the p.a. during the Dodgers' annual Hollywood Stars games. ... Ward tried to surprise Dreifort with a straight steal of home in the sixth inning, but was thrown out easily.