Alvarez cranked a 3-2 curveball from Zack Greinke into the shrubs beyond the center-field fence in the fifth, breaking a 2-2 tie. Grienke (3-2) was tagged for five runs on eight hits in five innings, dropping to 5-2 all-time against Pittsburgh.

Cole (2-0), the top overall pick in the 2011 draft, allowed three runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings in his second major-league start. He was efficient, throwing only 80 pitches, but ran into trouble in the sixth and needed left-hander Justin Wilson to get out of a jam before Jason Grilli worked around a two-out walk in a scoreless ninth for his 25th save in as many chances.

The Pirates staked Cole to a 2-0 lead on Garrett Jones' two-run double in the first, but Los Angeles cut the lead in half on Tim Federowicz's run-scoring groundout in the second and tied it on Andre Ethier's RBI single in the fourth.

Ethier's second RBI single of the day made it 5-3 and chased Cole in the sixth, but Alex Presley answered with a solo shot to right with two outs in the bottom of the inning and the Dodgers didn't record a hit over the final three frames.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Pirates beat the Dodgers for only the third time in the past 16 meetings and snapped a streak of six straight series losses against Los Angeles. … Pirates OF Starling Marte (oblique) was held out of the starting lineup for a fourth straight game and C Russell Martin was scratched with lower body soreness. Marte entered in a double switch in the sixth and went 0-for-2. … Dodgers OF Yasiel Puig went 3-for-4, raising the rookie sensation's batting average to .479.