Pirates gain control on messy Dodgers plays in win

Pirates 7, Dodgers 5

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Pirates and Dodgers played another error-filled game. This time, it went the Pirates' way.

Adam LaRoche homered and Pittsburgh capitalized on three errors by Los Angeles in a 7-5 victory Sunday that snapped a four-game losing streak.

Chris Duffy had three hits, stole two bases and scored two runs, and Tom Gorzelanny allowed three runs in six innings for the Pirates. Pittsburgh avoided a three-game sweep a day after failing to capitalize on three wild pitches and a throwing error by the Dodgers in a 7-3, 10-inning loss Saturday.

"That's kind of the way we seem to win and lose," Duffy said about a second day of miscues. "I probably lost a good year off my life in this series."

NL West-leading Los Angeles lost a series finale for the first time this season and had its three-game winning streak end.

Gorzelanny (3-0) gave up five hits, struck out six and walked two. The left-hander retired the first nine batters on 30 pitches before needing 46 pitches alone to get out of the fourth.

He was miffed about not fielding a grounder by Luis Gonzalez that ricocheted off his glove and went into right field to extend the inning.

"I should've made that play," Gorzelanny said. "I couldn't let myself get down and I had to keep going."

Salomon Torres pitched the ninth for his sixth save in eight chances.

"I give him a lot of credit because we haven't made things very easy for him," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said of Torres.

Brett Tomko's frustrations continued as he lost for the first time after no-decisions in his first two starts. The right-hander gave up five runs and eight hits in six innings, struck out seven and walked two, but was betrayed by some sloppy defense early.

"It's not a fun way to lose when things like that happen," Tomko said. "Usually you'll see a freaky thing in each game here and there. It just seemed like it was something different every inning."

The Pirates scored in the first inning for the third consecutive game. Duffy reached on a bunt single, stole second and took third on catcher Russell Martin's throwing error. He scored on Freddy Sanchez's RBI groundout.

Martin also had a throwing error that led to a run Saturday.

"Lately I've been throwing the ball and it's been kind of tailing off," he said. "I've just got to work on my footwork."

The Pirates made it 3-0 in the third on another messy sequence a day after the teams combined for five wild pitches and a passed ball Saturday night. Duffy singled, stole second, took third on Tomko's wild pitch and scored on Jack Wilson's RBI single.

"I tried to make them make plays and put some pressure on them, and it worked out," Duffy said. "I want to get in scoring position. Some pitchers have been doing pretty well holding me and keeping me from running. I didn't care if I got thrown out."

Wilson advanced to second on the play when second baseman Jeff Kent's throw from a sitting position skipped past Olmedo Saenz at first. Wilson scored on a fielding error by center fielder Juan Pierre, who was coming in on Jason Bay's fly ball and dropped it.

"As long as the errors are of an aggressive manner, they're not that big of a concern for us," Dodgers manager Grady Little said.

Gorzelanny issued a bases-loaded walk to Brady Clark as the Dodgers scored two runs in the fourth to pull within one.

LaRoche homered on the first pitch from Tomko with two outs in the sixth and Nate McClouth's RBI single pushed Pittsburgh's lead to 5-2.

Bay hit a two-run double off Chad Billingsley that extended the Pirates' lead to 7-3 in the seventh when a light drizzle began.

"For the first time in a while, we had some sustained offense," Tracy said. "That home run by LaRoche was big, the two-run double that Jason Bay hit was big."

The Dodgers added two runs in the eighth on Martin's bases-loaded sacrifice fly and an RBI single by pinch-hitter Nomar Garciaparra. They had the potential winning run at the plate but pinch-hitter Ramon Martinez grounded out to end the inning. Kent grounded out with the winning run at the plate to end the game.

Saenz hit his first homer of the season for the Dodgers in the sixth.

Game notes
After the game, the Pirates optioned LHP Juan Perez">Juan Perez to Triple-A Indianapolis and activated LHP John Grabow off the disabled list. He made his fourth rehab appearance at Indy on Saturday, working one scoreless inning. ... LaRoche's homer snapped a streak of 63 consecutive innings without a homer allowed by Dodgers pitchers. ... Pirates 3B Jose Bautista's double in the second gave him a career-best 10-game hitting streak. ... The Pirates went 3-4 on their seven-game trip and are 7-6 on the road this season. ... The Dodgers have won five of eight series. ... They are off Monday before Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants arrive Tuesday for a three-game series.