The Los Angeles Dodgers squandered opportunities early but ultimately came up with enough timely hits to extend their winning streak to five games by defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3.
The Dodgers had two men reach with nobody out in each of the first two innings, only to strand the runners both times. Corey Seager then led off the bottom of the third with a double but only advanced to third base when Cody Bellinger blooped in a hustle extra-base hit.
AJ Pollock followed with more soft contact, as his two-run single gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
That was quickly erased as Ke’Bryan Hayes led off the fourth inning with a base hit and scored when Bryan Reynolds drove a double to the left-center field gap. Then began an eventful night for Gavin Lux in his first career Major League start at third base.
The Dodgers had their infield playing on the edge of the grass, which allowed Lux to have a potential play at the plate after fielding a chopper. However, his throw was low, went into Reynolds and got away.
In the fifth inning, Lux had back-to-back balls hit to him that began with an impressive play from deep behind the bag — complete with Matt Beaty stretching out at first base. But on a more routine grounder, Lux airmailed the throw to first base for his second error of the night.
David Price then issued a two-out walk and that marked the end of his outing. Corey Knebel kept the game tied and the book closed on Price at two runs allowed on three hits and one walk.
The Dodgers were on the verge of stranding Seager’s leadoff ground-rule double and Pollock’s two-out walk, but Beaty delivered what held as a game-winning hit by getting a grounder by Yoshi Tsutsugo for extra bases.
Tuesday’s victory was the Dodgers’ 15th in a row against the Pirates.
Dodgers bullpen nearly perfect
Beginning with Corey Knebel, a stable of Dodgers relief pitchers combined to follow Price with scoreless work. The first 10 batters faced were retired before Yoshi Tsutsugo’s leadoff double in the ninth snapped that streak.
Jansen struggled with his command and allowed a run before converting the save.
Knebel went 1.1 perfect innings, followed by one each from Phil Bickford and Blake Treinen. Treinen extended his impressive streak to 23.2 innings pitched across 22 appearances without allowing an earned run.
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 more!
