LOS ANGELES — Jim Tracy swears he harbors no ill will toward the Los Angeles Dodgers. That being said, he made no attempt to hide the joy he felt after beating his former team for a second straight game.

NL batting leader Freddy Sanchez matched a career high with four hits, Shawn Chacon outpitched Greg Maddux, and the Pittsburgh Pirates played the spoiler's role again Wednesday night with a 6-4 victory over the Dodgers.

"That was a game with obviously a lot at stake for the Dodgers. And I say that only because it's also great for us," Tracy said. "For our young players to be exposed to this type of atmosphere, with what is at stake and to be able to play in an environment like this, it's just a tremendous arena for our kids to be in at this time of the year."

Tracy managed the Dodgers for five years before parting ways with them following last season.

"I'm sure it brings back a lot of memories for him when he comes back into town," said Jose Bautista, whose solo homer in the third put the Pirates ahead for good. "He used to manage here and they won a lot of games when he was here, so it's got to be a good feeling for him."

Los Angeles lost for the 11th time in 17 games and fell into a tie with Philadelphia for the NL wild-card lead. The Dodgers remained one-half game behind the NL West-leading San Diego Padres, who lost to Arizona 8-2.

"We know the situation we're in. We're fully aware of what's happening elsewhere," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. "We've got to take care of business ourselves."

The loss was the second straight for the Dodgers since their dramatic 11-10, 10-inning victory over the Padres, when they hit four consecutive solo homers in the ninth to tie the game and won on a two-run shot by Nomar Garciaparra in the 10th.

"That game made history. Right now, it is history," Little said. "We've got to get all parts of our game working again."

Sanchez had two doubles and two singles in five at-bats in Pittsburgh's fifth consecutive win and 15th in the last 21 games.

"He's got that magic wand right now," Little said.

The four-hit game was the fourth for Sanchez, who raised his average to .346. Jack Wilson had three singles and scored three runs for the Pirates.