Losing streak ends at five

The Dodgers finally got some good starting pitching, bullpen work, long balls, and a little help from the other team all in one night. The end result was a 6-2 win over the Pirates, and the losing streak has mercifully been snapped.

Judging by the start of the game, it sure looked like another long night at Chavez Ravine. On the very first pitch of the game, Akinori Iwamura hit a ground rule double to left off of Chad Billingsley. Andrew McCutchen plated him an out later on a double of his own, and it was 1-0.

Xavier Paul surprisingly found himself hitting leadoff, and it paid off with a single. He then stole second on Russell Martin's strikeout. Andre Ethier took a fat pitch and hit a laser out to right, putting the Dodgers up 2-1.

In the third, it was the Pirates' defense that aided the Dodgers' success. Errors by Bobby Crosby and Jeff Clement allowed Paul and Ethier to reach base with one down. James Loney hit one of the lowest liners you'll ever see for a home run. The three-run shot put the Dodgers up 5-1.

The teams traded single runs in the next few innings. Ryan Doumit doubled to right to score Ryan Church in the fourth. The Dodgers got it back on Ronnie Belliard's pinch-hit sacrifice fly RBI, ending the scoring at 6-2.

It was a pretty big start for Billingsley, whom the Dodgers trusted to get back on the winning side. And that he did. He ended at six innings for six hits, two runs, three walks, and four strikeouts. In his last two starts, he's given up only three runs in 12 innings, which is something the Dodgers have been hoping to see.

The offense needed someone to step and show some signs of life. Ethier did that early, and Loney took advantage of terrible defense for his big homer. Pirates' starter Charlie Morton came in with a 16.20 ERA, but he struck out eight and actually looked halfway decent.

The bullpen was another positive, as they had three of their top dogs appear, all with success. Ronald Belisario, George Sherrill, and Jonathan Broxton all combined to throw three innings of one-hit ball. Too bad it wasn't a save situation, as Broxton is still stuck at one.

So that's one win, now the Dodgers need to dominate the weekend. Carlos Monasterios will get his first start in the majors on Saturday night. Joe Torre didn't have much of a choice, and Monasterios has actually performed pretty well, gathering a 1.69 ERA in 10 2/3 innings. It's worth a shot to let him get the start.