ANAHEIM -- The Dodgers are aware of the perception among outsiders that they are playing beyond their abilities in maintaining the lead in the National League West without Matt Kemp and Mark Ellis.

"We could care less what other people feel," versatile and productive veteran Jerry Hairston said. "Even when we were back in [Spring Training] camp, we felt we were going to be in every ballgame. Let's do things to win ballgames; that's how we looked at it. We've got to keep doing that.

"We have guys who know how to play the game, guys who have played a long time and been around the game their whole lives. We understand how to move a guy over, make the right play. Probably the most important part is the pitching; they've kept us in ballgames.

"We always pull for each other. It's a very unselfish group."

Hairston, who drove in one of the runs in a 3-1 victory over the Angels on Saturday and was given Sunday off by manager Don Mattingly, is batting .300 since returning from the DL (left hamstring strain) on May 25. He has started 37 games at four positions and is clutch with a .353 average from the seventh inning on.

ANAHEIM -- A versatile bench filled with veteran role players is more essential in the National League game, with its late-game maneuvering, than in the American League with its designated hitter. The Dodgers have loaded manager Don Mattingly's bench with a group of coolly competitive athletes fully aware of their roles.

"There is a thought to it," Mattingly said before Sunday's Interleague finale against the Angels. "The guys we brought in, we feel like they are kind of role players now. We wanted to make sure they've accepted that first, that you're not going be an everyday player."

Jerry Hairston, Adam Kennedy and Matt Treanor were free-agent acquisitions, while Bobby Abreu arrived after the Angels released him. Elian Herrera has shaken off the stereotype of career Minor Leaguer to emerge as an invaluable all-purpose player. Brilliant defensively with enough offense to hold his own, Tony Gwynn is as good as any fourth outfielder in the game.

"We can mix and match off the bench," Mattingly said. "With Jerry Hairston and Adam Kennedy, they're not coming in trying to knock somebody off his perch. They're good with playing four times out of seven [games]. In the National League game, you're in every game. You want guys who want to be in winning environments, playing for something -- not guys who are just playing out a year."

Hairston feels Abreu's role sliding into the No. 3 spot in the order in Matt Kemp's absence has been especially important. The Dodgers are 9-6 with Abreu hitting third, the role he's spent most of his career in while racking up borderline Hall of Fame numbers.

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Hairston lauds chemistry of unselfish Dodgers