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LOS ANGELES -- Clutch hitting from Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez helped the Pittsburgh Pirates finally win a series in Dodger Stadium after a seven-year drought. McCutchen hit his first home run in over a month, doubled twice and scored two runs to help the Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Sunday and take three of four from the defending NL West champions. "Its good that we were able to get three out of four against a really good team here in L.A.," McCutchen said. "We havent done that in a long time, so its a step in the right direction, definitely." Alvarez drove in three runs against Zack Greinke and Josh Harrison homered against Chris Perez, helping the Pirates win for the eighth time in 12 games. The last time they captured a series at Chavez Ravine was in September 2006, when they took two of three under then manager Jim Tracy. "Weve been out here a lot and not done a whole lot. So it was a big thing for us -- because we flat-out believe we can play," skipper Clint Hurdle said. "We needed to knock this off our to-do list, and we were able to. We knew what we were facing here, and we outpitched them for three of the four days. We played three really clean ballgames. We have confidence and we have enough edge and grit, and I think it showed up this weekend." Edinson Volquez (3-4) allowed two runs and five hits over five innings, striking out six and walking one. "Youve got to stay focused on what youre doing, especially against those guys because they have a good lineup," Volquez said. "You cant make a lot of mistakes against them, especially with Greinke because hes one of the best pitchers in the National League. Tonight I had better fastball command than I did in New York, so I was able to throw more strikes and keep the fastball down." Jason Grilli, the fifth Pirates pitcher, got three outs for his eighth save and third of the series after giving up a pair of two-out walks and an RBI single by pinch-hitter Scott Van Slyke. It was the Dodgers only hit after Justin Turners solo homer with one out in the fourth. Greinke (8-2) gave up a season-worst four runs and five hits in seven innings and struck out seven. "Hes an ultra-competitor. And to beat him, youve got to out-compete him," Hurdle said. "We laid off some tight pitches, we worked some counts, got his pitch count up, then we hit some pitches we were able to handle and got the barrel on them. But that was the plan coming in. I mean, you give him strike one and he can cut you up three different ways. So we just tried to be as aggressive as he was. We were looking for fastballs early, and his location played into it." Alvarez opened the scoring in the first with a two-run single after Greinke gave up a two-out double to McCutchen and walks to Ike Davis and Russell Martin. "McCutchen did a lot against us," manager Don Mattingly said. "Obviously the kid at third base (Alvarez) had a couple of big hits too, and had some good at-bats. Zack had been fairly successful against him." McCutchen, whose 21 homers, 84 RBIs and .317 average last season helped the Pirates end a 20-year playoff drought, made it 3-1 in the third with his fifth homer and first since April 23. The RBI was the first for the reigning NL MVP after a drought of nine games and 33 at-bats since his run-scoring single against Washingtons Blake Treinen on May 22. "I havent been hitting the ball the way I knew I could be, so tonight was a good start for myself," said McCutchen, who came in 4 for 21 against Greinke with two RBIs. "Just being ready to hit was the biggest key, and getting pitches to hit. Ive been a little late, probably because my timings been off on off-speed pitches. So tonight I got myself in a hitting position and was ready to fire. And when I got a good pitch to hit I was able to put the barrel on it." Harrison, who was 7 for 17 in the series, hit his fourth homer in the seventh for the Pirates final run. NOTES: Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig had two hits and has reached base in 33 straight games, the longest active streak in the majors. ... RHP Bryan Morris, who gave up Hanley Ramirezs second homer of the game in Saturdays 12-2 Pirates loss, was traded to the Miami Marlins for the 39th overall pick in Thursdays draft. RHP Casey Sadler was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis, where he was 6-1 with a 2.66 ERA in eight starts. Cheap Milwaukee Brewers Jerseys . -- The Denver Broncos are shuffling their offensive line this off-season and Orlando Franklin provided some insight into their plans Monday by tweeting that hes moving from right tackle to left guard. Wholesale Brewers Jerseys . The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. http://www.cheapbrewersjerseys.com/ . Hes had three top-10 results this season and feels ready to put it all together and finally hoist a trophy at the top level. Cheap Cecil Cooper Jersey .com) - The Carolina Hurricanes hope to remain perfect at home in January on Friday night as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to PNC Arena. Cheap Paul Molitor Jersey .com) - The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to get back on track Monday night when they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves to Chesapeake Energy Arena.MONTREAL -- With little left to play for this season, the Montreal Impact are looking to become Major League Soccers spoiler. Virtually eliminated from MLS playoff contention, the last-place Impact would like to throw a wrench in San Joses own dwindling playoff aspirations when the Earthquakes visit Saputo Stadium on Saturday. Montreal is 16 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with six league games remaining, while the Quakes are nine points from the fifth and final berth in the West. "A team like San Jose is coming in, and theyre fighting to make the playoffs," assistant coach Mauro Biello said at training this week. "Were obviously going to rotate a couple of guys. Were expecting a physical game. Its about finishing the season strong. Right now, were in the role of the spoiler." Albeit faring well in the CONCACAF Champions League -- Montreal beat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 on Wednesday to go six points clear atop their group -- the Impact are mired in a season-long slump in MLS. Montreal (5-17-6) has managed only five wins in 28 matches while conceding a league-high 52 goals, an average of nearly two per game. A loss against San Jose, a team that hasnt won in its last eight contests, would officially eliminate the Impact from post-season contention. The Impact will try to impact the playoff picture in the coming weeks as well as they close out the season against the Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, and arch-rival Toronto FC -- three teams in the hunt for that final playoff berth in the East. Spoiling the party for the Quakes and its Eastern Conference rivals, however, is not the only item on the teams agenda. Striker Marco Di Vaio believes Montreals final six games of the year will be formative for next season. "Each game can help for the future," said Di Vaio, who strongly suggested this week that he would retire at the end of the season. "We can test a few young players. We may be last, but we have to remain proud to play for the Impact." In Montreals last MLS match, a 2-1 loss on the road to the New England Revolution, manager Frank Klopas gave substantial playing time to a few lesser-known players. Forward Anthony Jackson-Hamel and midfielder Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare made their first starts of the season for Montreal, while midfielder Louis Beland-Goyette played 15 minutes as a substitute in his Impact debut. All three are Montreal Academy products hoping to get real playing time with the squad next season. With a few lingering injuries in Montreals midfield -- Patrice Bernier, Gorka Larrea, Justin Mapp and Ignacio Piatti are not fully match fit -- and players needing to be healthy and rested for the teams Champions League fixture against the Red Bulls next month, it is likely Klopas will keep calling on his youngsters during the homestretch of the season.dddddddddddd In addition, with Di Vaio almost assuredly leaving the city hes called home since May 2012, Klopas may consider giving more playing time to striker Jack McInerney, who has been the odd man out for the Impact for much of the season. After practice on Thursday, Di Vaio said he was likely "going to go back to Italy" when his current contract with the Impact expires in October. The 38-year-old, who spent most of his career with teams like Parma and Bologna in Italys Serie A, said he needed to leave Montreal to rejoin his family in his home country. The former Italian international scored 31 goals in 70 MLS appearances for the Impact, and added another four Champions League goals so far this year. The Italian could get most of the night off against the Quakes on Saturday after playing 82 minutes in the teams midweek victory over New York. San Jose (6-11-10) is coming into Saputo Stadium looking for its first victory since Aug. 2. The team has since gone 0-3-5 and is stuck in eighth place in the West. Not to be blamed for the teams poor form is Chris Wondolowski, who has been unstoppable since returning from this summers World Cup in Brazil. The American has eight goals in his last 12 games, jumping into a tie for sixth in MLS scoring with 13 on the year. Wondolowski scored the game-tying goal last week in a 1-1 draw versus Los Angeles. The Earthquakes will also benefit from the return of forward Steven Lenhart, who missed two months with a knee injury. Lenhart was back in San Joses lineup against the Galaxy, coming on as a substitute in the second half. Making it difficult on Montreals goals scorers will be San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch, who leads all goalies in the league with 110 saves this year. With seven games remaining, Busch is 28 saves away from beating San Joses club record of 137 in a season, which was set in 2000. On Thursday, the Impact welcomed Ghanaian midfielder James Bissue to the club. The 23-year-old midfielder began his professional soccer career in Israel and played five games with Ghanas under-20 squad. Montreal signed Bissue before Mondays roster freeze deadline. "Were hoping he brings us some depth," Biello said of the newly acquired midfielder. "Weve been watching him for a while. Because hes coming from Ghana, it took a while for him to get his visa." ' ' '