DODGERS BUCK THE TREND FINALLY FIND WAY TO BEAT PIRATES DODGERS 5, PITTSBURGH 2.

Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer

They will carry the memories of Monday's miracle comeback against San Diego for the rest of their lives, and ride their playoff dreams through the season's final nine games.

What the Dodgers no longer have to worry about, though, is being haunted by visions of the Pittsburgh Pirates all winter. They also won't have to hear about their beleaguered bullpen, at least for one day.

After two days of frustration, the Dodgers finally broke through Thursday night against one of the National League's bottom-feeders, at least according to the Pirates' record, if not their recent play.

The Dodgers took a two-run homer from Olmedo Saenz, a bounce-back start from Chad Billingsley, a bases-loaded walk to J.D. Drew, 12 outs from their relievers and weaved it into a 5-2 victory at Dodger Stadium that they had to have.

``What's huge is to be able to hang in there,'' Dodgers manager Grady Little said, ``and be able to hold on to it for nineinnings.''

With the Padres beating Arizona, the Dodgers remained a half-game back in the NL West. They also pulled a half-game ahead of idle Philadelphia in the wild-card race and will open a three-game series tonight against the Diamondbacks at Chavez Ravine.

Not that there weren't some anxious moments. Jonathan Broxton entered in the eighth and gave up singles to Freddy Sanchez and Xavier Nady to put runners on first and third with one out.

Broxton battled back to strike out Ryan Doumit on a slider that the Pirates' first baseman argued was outside the strike zone. Doumit was ejected by home- plate umpire Greg Gibson as manager Jim Tracy charged onto the field and took up the cause.

Ronny Paulino then flied out to end the threat, and the Dodgers capitalized in the bottom of the inning. Russell Martin hit a run-scoring single and Marlon Anderson -- atoning for an earlier error -- dropped down a squeeze bunt to score Drew.

``I hope we can win nine more games in a row ugly,'' Anderson said.

Joe Beimel set the tone with two trouble-free relief innings, erasing his only mistake in the sixth by picking off Jose Bautista. Takashi Saito earned his 20th save by striking the side in the ninth.

``Everybody knows it's going to come down to pitching,'' Anderson said. ``For those guys to be able to go out there and do that and build their confidence, we're going to need them down the stretch, for sure.''

Even if the Pirates have gone 35-28 since the All-Star break, the Dodgers weren't about to see their season undone at the hands of Ian Snell, Shawn Chacon, Sanchez and Bautista.

They took advantage of threewalks, using a single by Kenny Lofton to score in the fifth. Pirates starter Shane Youman departed with runners on first and third, and rookie Josh Sharpless went on to walk Jeff Kent and then Drew on four pitches with the bases loaded.

``He can draw a walk with the best of them,'' Little said of Drew.

Other than their video scouting, the Dodgers had little idea what to expect in Youman, who was making his second major- league start. None of the Dodgers had faced the left-hander, who started the season at Double-A Altoona (Pa.)

It turned out Youman -- who had two hits and drove a run -- was a more effective hitter than pitcher.

Rafael Furcal ripped Youman's second pitch to right for a single only to be forced out at second as Lofton grounded into a fielder's choice. But Saenz blasted one into the left-field pavilion to put the Dodgers ahead 2-0.

Playing in place of Nomar Garciaparra, Saenz continued to wear out the Pirates. He has hit .468 with six homers against Pittsburgh for his career.

Billingsley (6-4) nearly gave back that lead in the top of the second when a double by Nady put runners on second and third with no outs.

The rookie pitcher then fell behind Doumit two balls and no strikes, only to battle back and strike him out on back-to-back curveballs. It was the best sequence of the night for Billingsley, who lasted just one inning in his previous start.

``Everything was working well all together,'' Billingsley said. ``I had a lot of pitches to go to.''

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Photo:

Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley gave up two runs on six hits in five innings, enough to pick up the victory Thursday.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

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DODGERS vs. ARIZONA

- Ross Siler