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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Remember that hitting slump the Los Angeles
Dodgers were stuck in a day or so ago? Apparently they don't.
Shawn Green hit a three-run homer before Pittsburgh starter Jose
Silva got an out and the Dodgers broke out of their slump in a big
way Wednesday, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-5.
|  | | Adrian Beltre scores in the third inning, eluding Pirates catcher Jason Kendall's tag. |
The Dodgers scored 11 runs by the fourth inning against Silva
and reliever Steve Sparks, or two more runs than they had in their
previous five games.
"We did a good job of getting guys on base and getting them
in," said Dodgers starter Darren Dreifort (8-7), who won his
fourth in a row. "It wasn't easy pitching, that's for sure, but 11
runs is outstanding. It sure makes giving up five (runs) easier."
Alex Cora singled in his first three at-bats and drove in four
runs, giving the Dodgers' No. 8 hitter six RBI in a span of four
at-bats. Cora's go-ahead two-run triple in the eighth inning
Tuesday rallied the Dodgers to a 5-3 victory in the second game of
a doubleheader and stopped a three-game losing streak.
"I've said all along, it can't be the big guys all the time,"
Cora said. "The guys at the bottom have to do it, too. I was
taking good pitches before. Now I'm hitting what I want to hit and
not what they want me to hit."
The Dodgers hit most everything Silva and Sparks tossed up
there, with newly reacquired leadoff hitter Tom Goodwin reaching
base his first four times up on three walks and a single.
"That's what speed does," manager Davey Johnson said. "That's
the value of having speed in the leadoff spot."
The Pirates were shaky defensively again, committing three
errors -- they have 91 for the season -- and misplaying several other
balls. The pitchers didn't help much, walking eight as the Dodgers
had 18 base runners in the first four innings.
Green's homer followed the first of Goodwin's walks and Mark
Grudzielanek's single. Cora added a two-out RBI single.
"It was unexpected, but sometimes you surprise yourself,"
Green said of his 18th homer. "We needed to have a good offensive
game. We've been pretty quiet for a few days."
Left fielder John Vander Wal's error on Grudzielanek's
second-inning single led to Gary Sheffield's sacrifice fly. Silva
(7-5) was lifted during a three-run third that saw Goodwin's
high-hop single to shortstop drive in two runs as the ball
deflected off Enrique Wilson's glove and skittered across the
infield.
Silva, who had allowed two earned runs in 15 innings in his
previous two starts, never did find his control. He pitched the
first inning of Monday's rained-out game, and wasn't sharp coming
back with only a day off.
"When he can't throw his fastball for strikes and set up his
other pitches, his curveball, changeup and splitter, he pitches
behind and that's a totally different story," manager Gene Lamont
said.
Sparks, a rookie who is not related to the knuckleballer of the
same name, walked four in a three-run fourth highlighted by Cora's
two-run single and the first of Sheffield's two doubles.
Dreifort's scoreless streak of 19 1/3 innings ended with Alex
Ramirez's two-run homer in the second, but the right-hander still
lasted six innings, allowing five runs and seven hits. He is
unbeaten in four starts since the All-Star break.
Ramirez's homer was his first since being traded by Cleveland on
Friday.
"It's a thrill no matter where you hit them," he said.
By winning, the Dodgers finished 87-86 in Three Rivers Stadium.
The Dodgers and the Reds are the only opposing NL teams with
winning records there, except for the Diamondbacks and Brewers, who
joined the league two years ago.
Game notes
Brian Giles hit a long solo homer off Dreifort in the sixth
and is 4-for-7 with three homers against him. ... Dodgers RHP Matt
Herges is the first rookie to start 8-0 since Livan Hernandez was
9-0 in 1997. ... The Pirates went 6-6 on a season-long 12-game
homestand. ... The Dodgers bullpen is 7-0 since July 2. ... Dodgers
OF F.P. Santangelo was activated off the disabled list and
immediately began serving a five-game suspension. The Dodgers will
play with 24 players until Tuesday. ... Los Angeles finished 8-5 on
artificial turf this season. ... The Pirates are 3-11 in afternoon
home games, losing seven in a row since May 14. ... One-third of
Cora's 18 RBI have come in the Dodgers' last two games. He also
had five RBI Thursday at Colorado.
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Kansas City 4
NY Yankees 1
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