This could have been a turning point day for the Dodgers.Good news: Joe Torre benches Andruw Jones and broadly hints the $36 Million Mistake won’t be back in the lineup any time soon.

Bad news: Nomar Garciaparra suffers a tweaked knee and leave in the middle of a 2-0 victory. He said it didn’t hurt much. But Nomar is made of porcelain, and it this turns into a disabled list stint it wouldn’t surprise me in the list.

Good news: Clayton Kershaw, Golden Child of Dodgers prospects, finally gets a victory, in his 10th major-league start, with six shutout innings.

And now?

The Dodgers are back to .500 for the first time since May 30! Hurrah!

Sadly, they have no more games scheduled with the Washington Nationals, the worst team in the majors.

The Dodgers now need to focus on getting to 85 victories. That’s also-ran status in most divisions, but in the National League West, it ought to be enough to win the division. Unless the Diamondbacks regain their April-May momentum (and they could, while playing NL West teams).

Key series coming up at the end of this week, when the Dodgers and D-Backs play four times in four days at Chavez Ravine.

I’d like the Dodgers’ chances better if Nomar were still ambulatory. With him out, they put another automatic out (Angel Berroa, presumably) into the lineup. But they remove another out machine by benching Jones.

They have a shot, and that’s more than they deserve, but they have a chance to make something out of what ought to have been a nothing season.