LOS ANGELES – It wasn’t a trip the Diamondbacks will want to remember, but it wasn’t a code-red disaster, either, and given the sub-zero temperatures at which their bats currently are residing, the collective sigh of relief was evident in the visitor’s clubhouse after Sunday’s 4-1 win at Dodger Stadium.

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Diamondbacks-Dodgers series | Sunday’s box score | MLB scoreboard

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It wasn’t that they were denying the fact that their 3-6 road trip through San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles wasn’t bad. It’s that they were aware it could have been much worse.

“We kind of salvaged a bad trip,” manager Kirk Gibson said. “We’re doing it with our pitching right now. We have to address some issues with our offense, for sure.”

They dropped two of three to the Padres, were swept in San Francisco and somehow came away with a series victory over the Dodgers, winning despite being one-hit on Saturday and beating them again on Sunday, mostly thanks to a four-run second inning from that slumping offense.

Well, that and another solid outing from right-hander Ian Kennedy, who continues to pitch like he belongs at the top of the rotation. He might not have had his best stuff Sunday, but he found a way to keep his team in the game. That’s an attribute of most of baseball’s better pitchers.

“Today was pretty much a battle,” Kennedy said. “My command wasn’t as good as it has been. I had to put a lot on my defense. I’m glad our offense carried me early on.”

He gave up just one run in six innings, but he threw 112 pitches. He said the Dodgers fouled off at least 30 of his pitches.

“That’s almost two innings worth of work,” he said. “They weren’t easy to either strike out or get them to make an out. They were fouling balls off. They weren’t giving in. It’s not an easy lineup by any means.”

In collecting their first four-run frame since April 12, the Diamondbacks got back-to-back home runs from Xavier Nady (two-run shot) and Ryan Roberts and a sac fly from Chris Young. That was all they would get off Dodgers lefty Ted Lilly.

Neither home run was exactly expected. For Nady, it was his first since Sept. 11, 2010, a span of 128 plate appearances. For Roberts, it came in his first at-bat since he went down with a stomach virus after the club landed in LA on Thursday night.

“With what we’ve been doing offensively, just to get a couple of timely hits is always encouraging,” Nady said. “The way we’ve been (hitting), anything’s good right now.”

Nady isn’t exaggerating. In the past 27 games entering Sunday, the Diamondbacks were hitting .214 with a .287 on-base. In their past 14 games, they were averaging few than three runs per game.

But they don’t need to do too much offensively when Kennedy’s on the mound. Kennedy, who has a 1.50 ERA in his past six starts, had to pitch out of a first-inning jam, but he retired the final 12 batters he faced.

Diamondbacks rewind

Roberts returns: Third baseman Ryan Roberts was back in the lineup after missing the past two days with an illness.

He didn’t waste any time getting re-acclimated, following Xavier Nady’s two-run homer with a solo shot of his own off Dodgers lefty Ted Lilly in the Diamondbacks’ four-run second inning.

Roberts already has tied his career high with seven home runs. He has just 114 plate appearances.

Bullpen trusty: The Diamondbacks bullpen continued its incredible work through the first half of May by tossing three more scoreless innings.

Esmerling Vasquez, David Hernandez and J.J. Putz threw an inning apiece, giving the Diamondbacks 36 innings out of their bullpen with only two runs (one earned) allowed in May.

“When you have a good bullpen that can go the seventh, eighth and ninth, it makes you feel a lot more secure,” starting pitcher Ian Kennedy said.

Holding firm: The Diamondbacks held Dodgers sluggers Andre Either and Matt Kemp hitless in the past two games. They went a combined 0 for 14, something that Gibson considered especially important given the peskiness of the Dodgers’ top two hitters, Jamey Carroll and Aaron Miles.

“To be able to shut those guys down behind them was very important,” Gibson said. “If we don’t do that, we don’t win the games.”

View from the press box

Manager Kirk Gibson mentioned twice Sunday that his club’s offensive shortcomings need to be addressed, comments that seemed to suggest a move that might be coming. It will be interesting to see if anything ends up happening and, if they reach to the minor leagues, which hitter they’ll go with. It sounds like the club doesn’t want to rush Double-A first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to the majors yet, but there are a slew of guys swinging the bat well for Triple-A Reno.

Up next: San Diego Padres

Update: Since taking two of three from the Diamondbacks two weekends ago, the Padres dropped a series to Milwaukee and took two of three from Colorado. Like the rest of the teams in the division, the Padres have been struggling to score runs overall, though they do much better away from Petco Park. They’ve scored 46 runs in their past six games, all on the road. CF Cameron Maybin entered Sunday hitting .280 with a .356 on-base, solid production for a player the Padres acquired from Florida in the off-season. RHP Tim Stauffer, who starts Tuesday, has worked into the sixth inning in six of his eight starts but has just one decision, a loss.

LOS ANGELES - Dodgers starting pitcher Chad Billingsley doused a scalding offense with seven shutout innings Sunday, allowing only left fielder Matt Holliday’s second-inning double and seventh-inning single.

Billingsley struck out 10 while walking two through six innings. The Cardinals, who raked the Dodgers for a .403 average in the series’ first three games, failed to push a runner third base as a scoreless game reached the seventh inning.

Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter allowed five hits without a walk through six innings. His performance offered a contrast to his four-inning struggle five days earlier against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers managed five hits through six innings but pushed only a single runner to third base.

LOS ANGELES - The Cardinals will return to St. Louis tonight in “style.”

In a team-building exercise orchestrated by right fielder Lance Berkman and carried out by several lieutenants, the Cardinals will wear turtleneck shirts and sweaters on the team charter home from  from a successful 10-game road trip.

“Yeah, you can probably attach my name to it,” Berkman said before Sunday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Big Puma circulated the idea last weekend in San Francisco as the club dealt with consecutive late-inning losses to the Giants. As the Cardinals gained momentum on the trip, winning six of seven entering Sunday, so too did Berkman’s fashion statement.

Second baseman Skip Schumaker and starting pitcher Jake Westbrook purchased attire from thrift stores. Some players ordered on-line but had not received their designerware in time for Sunday’s display. No matter. Extras were available. Reliever Mitch Boggs’ canary yellow (size: petite) turtleneck was a hit. Trever Miller sported a camouflage look. Jon Jay and Daniel Descalso brandished a look avec matching tams as they arrived Sunday morning.

Catcher Gerald Laird went the extra mile, purchasing a screaming purple sport coat to enhance his “pimped out” look.

Schumaker put together an ensemble featuring a maroon turtleneck beneath a green frock with fringe. 

“It’s something everyone can have fun with together,” Laird said before Sunday’s game. “Guys went to some pretty good lengths to pull it off. It’s been a long road trip that didn’t start out particularly well. But something like this can bring a team together. Nothing’s wrong with guys being able to laugh at each other.”

Teams often force rookies to wear outlandish attire during a late-season road trip. However, Berkman thought it better for everyone to be involved.

Schumaker, Craig Unavailable

LOS ANGELES - Second baseman Skip Schumaker and outfielder Allen Craig will be unavailable to the Cardinals in today’s series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Schumaker suffered a hyperextended right elbow Friday night, according to manager Tony La Russa, and Craig suffered an apparent groin strain while stealing an eighth-inning base in Saturday’s 9-2 win.

Both players will be seen by team doctors on Monday’s off day. Craig, who was double-switched from the game in the bottom of the eighth, said he could not have continued.

Schumaker said he suffered his injury on his next-to-last at-bat Friday. He attempted to take batting practice Saturday but quickly realized the problem persisted.

General manager John Mozeliak said the club would better realize whether a roster move is required for either player after Monday’s examinations. However, Mozeliak remained optimistic the club could keep both active.

The Cardinals arrived at Dodger Stadium sporting turtlenecks in a team-building exercise. The trend replaces the moustache epidemic that went through the clubhouse two years ago.

Chris Carpenter faces Chad Billingsley this afternoon after enduring his worst start as a Cardinal last Tuesday in Arizona. Carpenter allowed eight runs and eight hits in four innings.

A Cardinals win would give the club its first four-game sweep at Dodger Stadium since July 1-4, 1968.

The Rest:

Cardinals

SS Ryan Theriot

CF Colby Rasmus

1B Albert Pujols

LF Matt Holliday

RF Lance Berkman

3B David Freese

C Yadier Molina

2B Daniel Descalso

P Chris Carpenter

Dodgers

LF Tony Gwynn, Jr.

SS Jamey Carroll

RF Andre Ethier

CF Matt Kemp

3B Juan Uribe

1B James Loney

C Rod Barajas

2B Aaron Miles

P Chad Billingsley