Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press Dodgers manager Grady Little argues with home plate umpire Joe West after being ejected, while Dodgers catcher Russell Martin listens in the third last night.

By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette LOS ANGELES -- With one boisterous crack of the bat, Russell Martin's grand slam in the 10th inning launched Los Angeles past the Pirates, 7-3, last night at Dodger Stadium.

The shot came off Shawn Chacon in a rare blowup by the bullpen, and it came on yet another night where the popgun offense achieved next to nothing.

	Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press The Dodgers' Wilson Valdez collides with Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez as he advances to second on a wild pitch in the ninth inning. Click photo for larger image. Today Game: Pirates (LHP Tom Gorzelanny 2-0, 1.33) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (RHP Brett Tomko 0-0, 1.64), 4:10 p.m., Dodger Stadium. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7). Key matchup: Gorzelanny vs. pretty much anyone he faces, with the heavy advantage to the pitcher. His ERA is the fifth-lowest among qualified starters in all of Major League Baseball, and opponents are batting .208 off him. Of note: Judging from these starters' ERAs - and Tomko's usual fast pace - this could be a quick one. If so, that would be odd for the Pirates. Their shortest game was 2:29, and they have topped three hours on four occasions. Related articles Inside the Pirates: Bullington bursts back into picture Pirates Notebook: This K club might be most exclusive of all Paul Meyer's Power Rankings

But make no mistake: This one was not lost in front of the plate or next to it.

It happened behind the plate, where two mistakes by catcher Ronny Paulino cost the Pirates a one-run lead in the ninth.

"What's tough ... really tough ... is the manner in which they tied the game," manager Jim Tracy said. "They didn't hit the ball out of the infield."

Nor did Los Angeles get a hit.

After Ian Snell gave the Pirates another superlative start -- two runs over seven innings against an opponent with the best record in Major League Baseball -- they carried a 3-2 lead into the eighth. Matt Capps zipped through that inning on one hit, and closer Salomon Torres took the mound for the ninth seeking the save.

Andre Ethier battled through an eight-pitch walk to open it, and pinch-hitter Wilson Valdez bunted into a forceout at second. That brought up Olmedo Saenz, owner of a .458 career average against the Pirates.

Torres' second pitch to Saenz, a wild one, skipped away from Paulino, and Valdez broke for second. When Paulino retrieved the ball about 15 feet away and tried to nail him there, the throw sailed into center field, and Valdez took third.

That was the first miscue.

His next, and the one that was far more costly, came when Torres got Saenz to swing over a diving splitter for strike two. Paulino failed to turn his glove to the underhand in time, and it rifled through his legs.

"I just saw the bat and the ball at the same time," Paulino said. "I lost the ball right there."

Still, it caromed hard off the backstop and right back to Paulino as Valdez was in a desperate sprint for home. Paulino flipped to Torres, who appeared to block Valdez's slide with his left foot, but umpire Joe West ruled him safe, and the score was tied, 3-3.

Torres would strike out Saenz and retire Rafael Furcal.

It was a rough night all around for Paulino, whose error was his third of the season and passed ball was his second. He also went 0 for 4 at the plate to drop his average to .182.

No wonder he appeared disconsolate after the game.

"I think it's tough because we had a lot of opportunities to win the game," Paulino said. "When you have a game like that go out of your hands, you cannot think about anything else other than: What can I do to get better?"

He shook his head.

"We had that game."

For Torres, who hardly could be absolved given the walk and wild pitch, it was his second blown save in seven chances.

But, as Paulino correctly pointed out, much else was squandered.

Start with Snell, whose latest sterling showing included holding the Dodgers to five hits while coolly handling having a runner on base in five of his seven innings.

The effort was particularly welcome after the Pirates' three poor starts that preceded it, but Snell seemed to take little satisfaction in any aspect of his evening.

"At this point, it's just frustrating right now," he said in a session with reporters that lasted less than a minute. "I don't even know what to say. Why don't you go ask somebody else?"

Snell's ERA is at 2.00, having held all four opponents to two or fewer runs, but he has only a 1-1 record to show for it.

Move on to the offense, which finally figured out a way to make modest contact after 36 strikeouts in the previous three games, but not nearly enough.

In fact, all three of the Pirates' runs were gifts from the Dodgers.

Chris Duffy opened the game with an infield single, took second on a Brad Penny wild pitch and another base when the Martin's throw landed in center. Jack Wilson's groundout brought Duffy home.

And it was only because of Penny's continuing wildness that they went ahead, 3-1, in the third. That included three walks, including one to Adam LaRoche with bases loaded, and a wild pitch. There was one hit in the pack.

In all, the Pirates would have nine hits, six more strikeouts, go 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and put up zeroes in their final seven innings.

"You need a hit in one of those situations," Tracy said. "We have some people really struggling right now. Look at how we got our three runs. ... And we were trying to win with that."

That they lost, eventually, came down to the 10th.

Juan Pierre led off with a single to right off Jonah Bayliss. After one out, Jeff Kent did likewise. Tracy replaced Bayliss with Damaso Marte to face the left-handed Luis Gonzalez, and Marte walked Gonzalez on five pitches to load the bases.

Chacon, one of the Pirates' best relievers in the early going, was summoned to face Martin. He jumped ahead to a 1-2 count, but his sinker stayed up and turned into a no-doubt blast deep beyond the bullpen in left field.

The 48,995 leaped and roared as if their Dodgers had just taken a playoff game, and Martin responded by answering a curtain call.

Was he looking fastball?

"I wouldn't say a dead-red fastball," Martin said. "The best pitch to throw in that situation is a sinker, and I just got under the ball. And I'm just happy we won. We battled our bats off."

The mood was anything but happy in a palpably tense visiting clubhouse.

And not without cause.

In addition to the ugly nature of this loss, the Pirates' fourth in a row, their record dropped to 6-10 and, yes, they now are in last place in the Central Division.

"This one's hard, no question, because of how we lost. It's safe to say we beat ourselves," Duffy said. "Honestly, it's one of the toughest losses since I've been here."

Tracy would not take it to such an extreme.

"Anytime you lose, it's tough," he said. "Obviously, it would have been a nice win for us. We let it get away."

Outfielder Xavier Nady left the game in the middle of the sixth because of a strained left hamstring and is listed as day to day. He was injured while running out a groundout.

He described the matter as "not serious." Regardless, with a scheduled day off tomorrow, he almost surely will be rested for the finale of the seven-game road trip today.