Pirates rally for 6-5 victory, delay Dodgers from clinching NL West

Pirates rally past Dodgers 6-5, delay clincher

PITTSBURGH — Right fielder Andre Ethier misplayed Lastings Milledge’s two-run single that drove in the winning run, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for four in the ninth inning to beat the Dodgers 6-5 and prevent Los Angeles from clinching the NL West title Sunday.

The Dodgers went ahead 5-2 by scoring three runs in the top of the ninth against Matt Capps (4-8), only to let the Pirates stage their best rally of a dismal season in which they are four losses from losing 100 games.

Los Angeles went into the game with a magic number of two for clinching the division crown, but it essentially was one because the Rockies would lose any tiebreaker with the Dodgers.