The Dodgers finished a sweep of the pirates on Wednesday, 3-1, before having a day off and heading into a weekend series with the Giants.
Hiroki Kuroda put up his second quality start since coming off the DL, going six innings, giving up just one run, while striking out seven and walking none. Kuo, Sherrill, and Broxton then each tossed one perfect inning apiece, with Broxton picking up his 35th save.
Kevin Hart shut out the Dodgers through five, but Matt Kemp drove a two-run homerun in the sixth to put the Dodgers up by one. Ronnie Belliard also drove a solo homerun in the eighth for an insurance run, one of his three hits for the day.
The Dodgers remain five games up in the West, and open a three-game series at home with the Giants, who are fighting the Rockies for the NL Wild Card. Vincente Padilla will take on Jonathan Sanchez on Friday. Sanchez is 0-4 with a 5.86 ERA in seven career starts against the Dodgers, while Padilla is still unbeaten in three starts since joining the Dodgers.
