After being shutout in the series opener, the Los Angeles Dodgers bounced back with a better offensive performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
Despite at one point trailing by seven runs, the team scored six times over their final seven innings and outhit the Pirates, 11-9, for the entire game.
The Dodgers also put up a good fight against Paul Skenes, who has been one of the toughest pitchers to face since making his MLB debut last month. They tabbed him for three runs and six hits in five innings of work.
Manager Dave Roberts credited his players for competing and taking better at-bats, via Will Aldrich of MLB.com:
“I thought that today was a really good offensive performance,” Roberts said. “I thought the at-bats were much better. I thought we were on the fastball and were taking some borderline off-speed pitches.
“I thought we did a really good job tonight of competing and hitting to our zone.”
Shohei Ohtani, who went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI, agrees that the Dodgers offense is trending in the right direction:
“[Our] overall team approach has been a lot better recently,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “I think the game would have been a lot different if I was able to hit one more homer in my fifth at-bat.”
Despite dropping their second consecutive game to the Pirates, it was encouraging to see the Dodgers look more like their usual selves at the plate. Six of the nine starters recorded a hit, and the team scored at least six runs for just the second time since May 24.
The Dodgers offense will look to keep it going on Thursday as the team tries to salvage their series with the Pirates.
Shohei Ohtani’s home run off Paul Skenes set career high in Dodgers loss
Ohtani’s home run against Skenes came on a 100.1 mph fastball, making it the fastest pitch he has homered off in his career. It was also the second-fastest pitch a Dodgers’ player has homered off of in the pitch tracking era, behind only Max Muncy’s homer off a 101.2 mph fastball on Aug. 13, 2022.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
