The Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates faced off in the series rubber match after a devastating and surprising loss for L.A. on Wednesday night.
This time, the Dodgers once again took an early lead, only for the Pirates to rally back and make it a ballgame. But this time, the Dodgers avoided the poor fate of Wednesday and took the series.
However, it wasn’t an ideal game as the Dodgers had multiple players suffer injuries.
Dodgers 8, Pirates 6: key takeaways
Shohei Ohtani & Justin Wrobleski injured
The Dodgers announced Justin Wrobleski left his start with a right hamstring contusion, while Shohei Ohtani left the game with left knee inflammation. Ohtani was pinch-hit for in the seventh inning during a Dodgers rally.
Wrobleski exited in the fifth inning after being hit by a comebacker off his leg, and then tripped and fell while attempting to cover first base on the play. He was able to walk off the field under his own power next to a Dodgers trainer.
Wrobleski finished his day throwing 4.2 innings while allowing four runs on six hits with one strikeout and two walks. All the damage he allowed came in that fifth inning, starting with a solo home run by Rafael Flores Jr., and then a two-run shot from Brandon Lowe.
Ohtani was 2-for-2 before he exited, which included a solo home run. The two-way superstar also walked twice and scored two runs before being pinch-hit for with Santiago Espinal, who singled in his at-bat.
Seventh inning proves key once again
For the third straight game, the seventh inning proved to be the most impactful one of the day. On Tuesday, the Dodgers broke out for 10 runs in the seventh to win the game, and on Wednesday, the Pirates began their rally with three runs in the inning before breaking out with five more in the eighth.
This time, it was the Dodgers that scored two big insurance runs while they were winning by just one run. Alex Call started the rally with a pinch-hit walk, and Dalton Rushing doubled before Miguel Rojas reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Call.
A wild pitch then brought home the seventh run of the game for the Dodgers, giving them some important breathing room considering their recent bullpen struggles.
Dodgers score early
The Dodgers offense did the majority of their scoring in the third and fourth innings, tallying five runs across the two frames. Ohtani’s solo home run started the scoring, and Kyle Tucker hit a blooper that fell in for a hit with the bases loaded, scoring two runs to make it 3-0.
Their third inning rally came with two outs, starting with three consecutive singles from Ohtani, Andy Pages and Freddie Freeman, who drove in the fourth run. Their final run of the inning came on a wild pitch from Mitch Keller.
Dodgers bullpen struggles continue
Once again, the Dodgers’ bullpen didn’t help their chances of winning the game all that much. Will Klein entered for Wrobleski and allowed an inherited run to score while allowing three singles over his one total inning of work.
Edgardo Henriquez took over in the eighth and allowed two runs on three hits before Tanner Scott took over to record the final out of the inning.
That required Scott to record a four-out save, which he converted. Still, the bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball during June, and they aren’t showing any signs of getting back on track.
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