PITTSBURGH – Alex Cora hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers sent the Pittsburgh Pirates to their season-high fifth straight loss, 4-3 Saturday night.
Adrian Beltre led off the ninth with a single off Salomon Torres (1-1) that extended his hitting streak to 12 games. After a one-out walk to Jose Hernandez, Cora doubled down the right-field line.
Guillermo Mota (2-0) pitched a perfect eighth as Los Angeles won for the fourth time in five games. Eric Gagne extended his record for consecutive save chances converted to 73 with his 10th this season.
Jack Wilson’s solo homer on Hideo Nomo’s first pitch of the sixth inning tied the game 3-3. Nomo allowed seven hits in six innings.
Los Angeles took a 3-0 lead in the first inning off Ryan Vogelsong when Shawn Green hit a three-run homer following singles by Paul Lo Duca and Milton Bradley. It was Lo Duca’s seventh this season.
Vogelsong, who has allowed 10 first-inning runs in six starts this season, gave up only two hits in the next six innings and retired his final 10 batters.
Tike Redman, dropped from the leadoff spot to eighth in manager Lloyd McClendon’s lineup, hit his first home run of the season in the third inning. The solo shot by Redman, who entered the game in a 6-for-48 slump, stopped a 20-inning scoreless streak at home for the Pirates.
Vogelsong drove in the first run of his major league career with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. His one-out bloop behind first base was caught in foul territory by a diving Cora, but Lo Duca lost the ball trying to tag Chris Stynes, who had doubled.
Notes: Pirates 1B Randall Simon, on the 15-day disabled list since April 25 with a strained left hamstring, began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville in Saturday night … Former Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela will be honored Tuesday by Los Angeles City Council for his community work … Jackie Robinson’s daughter, Sharon Robinson, and Branch Rickey’s grandson, Branch Rickey III, will be commencement speakers Sunday at Ohio Wesleyan. Their appearance will mark the 100th anniversary of the elder Rickey’s graduation. … The Pirates are 2-11 against Los Angeles at home since PNC Park opened in 2001 … Jason Kendall’s first-inning single stopped an 0-for-16 streak.
AP-ES-05-08-04 2152EDT
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