PITTSBURGH — The Los Angeles Dodgers didn't need Manny Ramirez or Andre Ethier, Casey Blake or Russell Martin to finally find a way to beat what is usually one of the majors' worst teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Manager Joe Torre simply plugged in a bunch of backups, and a lot of hits followed.

Ronnie Belliard homered among three extra base hits and drove in four runs, and the Dodgers won 10-2 on Thursday to avoid being swept in a three-game series by the Pirates for the first time in 10 years.

The Dodgers didn't start five regulars, including middle-of-the-lineup hitters Ethier (sore left ankle) and Ramirez (day off), but still got 16 hits off four pitchers, including 10 from their No. 1-4 hitters. Reed Johnson doubled among three hits and scored twice, and Matt Kemp, James Loney and Garret Anderson drove in two runs each.

"They're an aggressive-hitting team," Pirates manager John Russell said. "You throw the ball over the middle of the plate, they're going to make you pay."

The Dodgers hadn't been swept in a three-game series by Pittsburgh since Sept. 4-6, 2000, in Los Angeles. The last such sweep in Pittsburgh was May 31-June 2, 1999, when the Pirates played in Three Rivers Stadium.

Belliard, making a spot start after losing the second baseman's job to Blake DeWitt, hit a two-run homer off Paul Maholm (0-1) in the fifth to make it 4-0. Belliard added a run-scoring triple during a breakout four-run seventh against reliever Hayden Penn, huffing and puffing into third.

Belliard doubled in the ninth, finishing 3 for 5 and a single short of the cycle.

Maholm second-guessed himself for throwing a hittable pitch to Belliard on an 0-1 count, especially with two out and Anderson on deck.

"It was a sinker that didn't do a whole lot, except go about 405 feet," Maholm said. "In my head, I had a left-handed batter coming up. I agreed to it and I threw it, but in my mind I wanted to throw something different."

Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley (1-0) gave up a run while throwing 107 pitches over 5Z\c innings, yielding five hits, striking out seven and walking four.

The Pirates, who had won four in a row and five of six against Los Angeles since late September, wasted a chance to get back into the game when Maholm struck out with the bases loaded and his team down 2-0 in the fourth. Normally a position player would have batted, but Russell is hitting his pitcher eighth.

Notes: The attendance was 9,352, down from 39,024 on Monday and 31,061 on Wednesday. ... Garrett Jones went 0 for 3 with a pair of walks after homering three times in the first two games.