Curtis Granderson hit his ninth home run in August and third in six games with the Los Angeles Dodgers and they pulled away late in a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Dodgers took three of four games at PNC Park to finish 5-2 on their road trip.
Granderson’s drive that landed in the Allegheny River broke a tie in the fourth inning. Up to that point the Dodgers had at least two runners reach against Chad Kuhl in each of the first three innings, with only Chris Taylor’s RBI single in the second providing a short-lived lead.
While he was not among the players to homer, Taylor produced a 10th three-hit game this season and second of the series.
Yasiel Puig lined a one-out double over Andrew McCutchen’s head in the seventh inning, and it was cashed in by Kiké Hernandez on a two-out RBI single. Yasmani Grandal and Adrian Gonzalez combined for back-to-back home runs in the eighth to provide a cushion.
Gonzalez’s home run was the 100th in his career with the Dodgers, which tied Steve Yeager for 25th in franchise history.
Hyun-Jin Ryu entered unbeaten in his last eight starts, and proceeded to turn in another strong outing. The Pirates’ lone run came in a two-out rally in the bottom of the second inning.
Sean Rodriguez drew a walk, Elias Diaz followed with a single, and Jordy Mercer’s base hit to right field scored Rodriguez. From that point forward, Ryu allowed just two more hits.
Josh Harrison was stranded after his two-out single in the fifth and David Freese’s ground ball hit third base, resulting in a two-out infield single. Ryu finished with just the one run allowed over six innings. It marked the eighth time in his last nine starts with two earned runs or less allowed.
Mercer doubled off Josh Fields with one out in the bottom of the seventh, and he was replaced by Tony Watson to better match up with pinch-hitter John Jaso. Watson retired Jaso but walked Harrison to put tying runs at the corners with two outs.
Three days after a forgettable appearance that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he was entitled to, Pedro Baez struck out McCutchen to end the inning. Baez issued a walk and hit a batter but stranded both runners in the eighth.
Brandon Morrow retired the side in order in the ninth to convert the 17th save of his career, but first since 2009. The Dodgers became the first team to 90 wins this season and reached the marker at the earliest date in franchise history.
