By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES(AP) -- Matt Kemp's best season just keeps getting
better. The Los Angeles Dodgers are moving into rare territory,
too.

Kemp hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning, Ronnie
Belliard added a solo shot and the Dodgers beat the last-place
Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.

"Every win up to this point is going to be big," Kemp said as
the Dodgers trimmed their magic number for clinching their third
postseason berth in four years to nine.

Los Angeles began the day with a five-game lead over Colorado in
the NL West - its largest since being 5 1/2 games up on the
Rockies on Sept. 1.

The Dodgers' first three-game winning streak since Aug. 20-22
against the Chicago Cubs left them 29 games above .500 for the
first time since the penultimate day of the 1985 season.

Kemp sent an 0-2 pitch from Kevin Hart (1-6) into the
right-field pavilion for his 24th homer, driving in Belliard and
giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead en route to their 38th comeback
win of the season. Kemp extended his career highs for homers and
RBIs (94) with his first longball since Sept. 1.

"I didn't think I would be here this quick doing all these good
things," he said. "I'm letting the game come to me."

The Dodgers beat the Pirates on a home run for the second day in
a row, this time with only three regulars - Andre Ethier, Kemp
and James Loney - in the starting lineup.

Kemp's shot came about 15 hours after Ethier's two-run homer in
the 13th inning lifted Los Angeles to a 5-4 victory.

"It was a real important game for us to win, coming back from
the game last night and knowing you have a psychological
advantage," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "We were able to
hold up."

Belliard made it 3-1 in the eighth, hitting the first pitch from
Phil Dumatrait over the wall in center. Dumatrait gave up
Ethier's winning homer on the first pitch a night earlier.

Belliard is hitting .319 with three homers and eight RBIs in 13
games since being acquired from Washington on Aug. 30.

"It's been fun since I got here, they give me a hug every day,"
he said.

Hiroki Kuroda (7-6) gave up one run and six hits, struck out
seven and walked none in his third start since returning from
the disabled list after being hit on the right side of his head
by a comebacker at Arizona on Aug. 15.

"A little bit of a surprise that he was able to really get back
to normal that quickly because he had to deal with a great deal
of trauma, not to mention the concussion," Torre said. "To have
him jump in there this time of year is important because of what
he did last year for us."

Jonathan Broxton pitched a perfect ninth for his 35th save in 40
chances.

Hart allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings, losing his
fifth consecutive start.

"I'd like to have one of those pitches back. It was supposed to
be a sinker in, but I kind of just pushed it and it was up in
the zone and right in the swing path," he said. "It was the
exact opposite of what I wanted to do."

Jason Jaramillo had an RBI single in the second for Pittsburgh,
which has lost 17 of 19.

"I can't ever say I'm happy about losing three games in a row,
but you can't say enough about how the guys battled," manager
John Russell said. "We fell short in all three games, but you
can't fault the effort. We get into games like this, and
unfortunately it comes down to one pitch or one play, and very
good teams take advantage of that."

NOTES: The crowd of 53,193 was the Dodgers' seventh sellout and
the largest weekday attendance in stadium history, excluding
opening day. The main attraction was another Manny Ramirez
bobblehead giveaway. ... Dodgers RHP Chad Billingsley, who has
lost four of his last five starts, won't take his scheduled turn
in the rotation this weekend against the Giants, replaced by RHP
Vicente Padilla. RHP Jon Garland will pitch Saturday, followed
by LHP Randy Wolf on Sunday. Torre said he told Billingsley that
"we needed to get him straightened out."' ... Crew chief Gerry
Davis missed the start of the game because of illness, but took
his spot in the middle of the third.