The first inning was a blur, with three Pirates coming to bat and scoring in a hurry. What followed was a grinding, four-hour test of wills Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It finally ended in the 10th inning, when Ronny Cedeno slapped a bases-loaded single into center field to give the Pirates a 4-3 victory.

"A long game, but we kept fighting," Cedeno said.

Only about half of the school-night crowd of 31,061 was still around when the Pirates loaded the bases in the 10th. Lastings Milledge reached when second baseman Blake DeWitt fumbled a grounder, then threw wildly to first base.

"I peeked (at DeWitt) when I was about three steps away, but I was running it out all the way," Milledge said. "That's how we play the game. We run everything out."

With one out, right-hander Ramon Ortiz (0-1) walked Andy LaRoche and pinch-hitter Ryan Church. Cedeno fell behind 1-2 in the count, then fouled off four pitches.