Sele, Ethier get Dodgers into first; Bucs blanked

LA handed Pittsburgh its10th straight loss Saturday night.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Aaron Sele has given the Los Angeles Dodgers a strong veteran presence.
Sele pitched six strong innings, rookie Andre Ethier had a career-high four RBIs and the Dodgers beat the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates 7-0 Saturday night to pull into a tie with San Diego for first place in the NL West.
"It's a pretty special group of young kids that we've got -- good quality people with good quality talent and really willing to learn," Sele said. "And there's enough veterans around to teach them the right way to do things."
Sele (4-2) scattered five hits and struck out four, winning for the first time in five starts since May 24.
The right-hander, who did not make it past the fourth in either of his previous two outings, worked with runners on base in every inning except the third.
He got three outs on flyballs to the warning track -- by Sean Casey, Jose Bautista and Freddy Sanchez, and allowed only one runner past second base.
"The difference was location and really just getting the ball down," Sele said. "I was able to keep the ball around the kneecaps and get some ground balls when I needed to. I need to command all of my pitches. I'm not a velocity guy, I'm a location guy. So I've got to keep the ball down. And when I do, it gives me a chance."
Good relief pitching
Jonathan Broxton relieved Sele and struck out the side on 14 pitches in the seventh. Former Pirates lefty Joe Beimel worked a scoreless eighth and Takashi Saito finished the combined seven-hitter with a perfect ninth to lower his ERA to 1.77.
Saito, who has assumed the closer role in the wake of Eric Gagne's latest setback from elbow surgery, has not allowed a run over his last 132/3 innings. He had not pitched in a week, so manager Grady Little was compelled to give him an inning to keep him sharp.
"Tak's been great," Sele said. "He's been a big boost, especially at the tail end of the bullpen. When you're used to having a guy like Gagne, who's been phenomenal, and then be able to stick Tak in there and really not miss a beat, it's pretty special. He works hard and obviously has fun doing his job."
Losing skid continues
Jeff Kent homered for the second straight game, helping send Pittsburgh to its 10th straight loss -- the Pirates' longest since a 10-game slide in 1968, when they finished 80-82 under manager Larry Shepard. The franchise's longest skid in the modern era is 12 games in 1939.
"Anytime you lose, it gets old after a while," Casey said. "We had a lot of high expectations in the beginning of the year. I don't think there's any such thing as quick fixes in baseball, but Tracy and Lett and T-Bone and Colby are the right guys to get this thing turned around -- if anyone's going to do it. There's no doubt in my mind."
Zach Duke (5-7) lost for the first time in exactly a month after going 3-0 in his previous five starts. He allowed five runs and 10 hits in 51/3 innings. The 23-year-old left-hander has an 8.15 ERA in three career starts against Los Angeles, surrendering 16 earned runs over 172/3 innings.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.