LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Brown didn't take much time in beating the Pittsburgh Pirates yet again.
Brown allowed four hits in eight innings Sunday as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a 3-2 win that took just 1 hour, 55 minutes.
"When you make good pitches and have good defensive plays made behind you, you can have a quick game," Brown said. "Games like these are nice if you're on the winning end. There's not much consolation in fast games that you lose, but quick games you win are a godsend."
Brown (3-1) defeated the Pirates for the fourth straight time, walking none for the second straight start. Cesar Izturis drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the seventh.
Jeff D'Amico (2-3), who shut out the Dodgers on a two-hitter last season with the New York Mets, took a one-hitter and a 1-0 lead into the sixth before shortstop Jack Wilson's first error of the season led to an unearned run.
"We hit more balls hard off him today," Shawn Green said. "If you hit some balls hard, eventually you're going to get some breaks."
D'Amico retired 16 straight until Dave Roberts reached on a slow-bouncing single to shortstop and continued to second when Wilson threw wildly to first base after charging the ball. Paul Lo Duca drove the next pitch into right-center for an RBI single.
"Dave just puts pressure on the other team with his speed and his ability to steal bases," Brown said. "His ability to put the ball in play makes the other team have to make plays.
"The ball that he hit was a routine play probably 99 percent of the time. But in Jack's mind, he was going to have to hurry to get a chance to get him, and it opened up the door for a base hit to score him. Dave was probably safe - even if he makes a great throw."
Brian Jordan reached on a one-out double, advanced on a groundout and scored the tiebreaking run when Izturis singled after an intentional walk to Alex Cora.
D'Amico then bounced a pitch to Brown that ricocheted off catcher Jason Kendall's shin pad and to the right of the mound. Cora broke for the plate and was ruled safe after D'Amico's throw back to Kendall, leading to an argument between Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon and umpire Gerry Davis.
"The ball was in my glove. It was a bang-bang play," Kendall said. "I should have blocked the ball in the first place, and then the ball wouldn't have gone where it did."
Davis said he saw the play all the way.
"When Jason made the tag, I felt that he lost control of the ball during the tag and then re-grabbed it." the veteran crew chief said.
Eric Gagne finished for his 10th save in as many chances, allowing an RBI groundout to Aramis Ramirez - the first run off Gagne in 16 1-3 innings this season.
Pittsburgh scored its first run in the third when Abraham Nunez led off with a single, advanced on D'Amico's sacrifice and scored on Kenny Lofton's single.
D'Amico was charged with three runs - two earned - and five hits in seven innings.
"It changed pretty quick," D'Amico said. "I thought I threw the ball pretty decent, but when it came time to make a pitch to get out of an inning, I didn't make it and it cost me the game. I was on a roll the whole day, and then all of a sudden, the wheels kind of fell off. It's frustrating."<.
Notes: Dodgers RHP Darren Dreifort, who left Saturday night's 4-1 victory after six innings because of soreness and tightness in his right knee, was examined Sunday by Dr. Frank Jobe and will have an MRI on Monday before joining his teammates in New York. His next scheduled start is Saturday at Montreal. ... After the game, the Dodgers put C Todd Hundley on the 15-day disabled list because of an irritation of his sciatic nerve and optioned INF Jason Romano to Triple-A Las Vegas. OF Larry Barnes and C David Ross were called up from the minors.
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