The afternoon after tying up the series with an 8-1 win, today’s game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers got off to a hot and fast beginning.
The Dodgers took an early 2-0 lead in the first. Pirates starter Mitch Keller had runners on second and third with two outs, when David Peralta singled in both runners for an early 2-0 lead.
The Pirates offense didn’t wait around long to counteract the early deficit. In a 1-2 count, Tucupita Marcano decided to lay down a bunt single, when Austin Barnes threw wide of first base for a leadoff little league triple (single with two-base error). Bryan Reynolds then worked a full-count before singling in Marcano, followed by an Andrew McCutchen single that put runners on first and second. Reynolds and McCutchen perfectly executed a double steal, and then Rodolfo Castro hit a deep sacrifice fly to score Reynolds and tie the game at two. Not entirely done, Jack Suwinski plopped a single into left field to score Cutch and give the Pirates a 3-2 lead.
From there, it turned into a pitcher’s duel. Both Keller and Los Angeles Dodgers starter Julio Urias settled in, and put on a display. Keller, looking to make a case for his own extension talks, diced up the Dodgers hitters. He’d allow only three singles the rest of the way, finishing with five hits against, two earned runs, and a walk to go with ten strike outs across six innings.
Knowing no lead is safe, the offense continues to make the case that these first 26 games of the season are no fluke. They were hitless after their three-run first inning, until recent slumping Connor Joe decided he wanted to wear the new celebration jacket in the sixth inning. Joe crushed a slurve 399 feet for a two-run home run to left field, after McCutchen drew a one-out walk.
After seeing how good Joe looked in the jacket, Castro blasted a fastball 414 feet to left center for a solo shot and back-to-back homers for a 6-2 lead.
aaaaand Castro joins the fun
The bullpen had it from there, and never looked back. Duane Underwood Jr. (1.1 IP, 1 K), Jose Hernandez (0.2 IP, 1 K), and David Bednar (1 IP, 1 K) shut the door, not allowing a single baserunner across the final three innings to seal a 6-2 victory.
The Pirates move to 18-8 on the season, and will head to Washington D.C. for the weekend.
