The Los Angeles Dodgers reached the final series of their nine-game homestand as they faced the Pittsburgh Pirates on Los Angeles Kings Night at Dodger Stadium. Pittsburgh entered 3-1 in the previous meetings between the clubs this season.
Ross Stripling was the victim of some bad luck early as Josh Harrison reached on an infield single to start the game. Harrison was initially ruled out, but the Pirates successfully challenged the call.
After a base hit to center field, Andrew McCutchen followed with an RBI single that gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead and left runners on the corners with no outs.
David Freese reached on a one-out RBI infield single, which was the second time Corey Seager struggled to get a grip on the ball after fielding a grounder.
Another run scored on a force out, and the Dodgers were in 3-0 deficit before coming up to bat. Ivan Nova worked around a Seager one-out single in the bottom of the first.
The Dodgers found some success in the second inning, sparked by a Joc Pederson two-out double. Howie Kendrick then lined the first pitch he saw into right field for an RBI single. Pederson just beat the tag from Eric Fryer, which was upheld after another review initiated by the Pirates.
Stripling gave one run back as McCutchen hit an opposite-field solo home run with one out in the third. Chase Utley led off the bottom half of the inning with a base, only to run into an out as he attempted to tag on Seager’s fly ball to deep left field.
Justin Turner extended the inning with a two-out single but was stranded by Josh Reddick. Pederson connected for a second two-out double in the fourth on a well-struck ball to center field. Kendrick reached on an infield single, but Stripling struck out to end the inning.
Reddick made a catch while crashing into the short wall in right field, which at the very least robbed Harrison of an extra-base hit. Stripling then retired Starling Marte to complete another 1-2-3 inning.
Marte returned the favor on Reddick in the bottom of the fifth by tracking down a line drive hit to the left-center field gap for the third out. Stripling continued to pitch well, retiring the side in order in the sixth.
Adrian Gonzalez led off the bottom half of the inning with a double that kicked off McCutchen’s glove on his diving attempt. After retiring Yasmani Grandal, Nova handed the ball over to Antonio Bastardo, who got the Pirates through the inning with their 4-1 lead intact.
Jordy Mercer led off the seventh with a home run, snapping Stripling’s streak of consecutive batters retired at 11. Felipe Rivero worked around a Seager two-out base hit in the bottom of the seventh to throw a scoreless inning of relief.
Kendrick and pinch-hitter Chris Taylor combined for back-to-back singles with two outs in the ninth, which knocked Juan Nicasio out of the game. Tony Watson took over and retired Seager to wrap up the Pirates’ 5-1 victory.
