There are plenty of strange things going on in the world, but the Pittsburgh Pirates sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers has to rank near the top of them. Pittsburgh completed a three-game sweep of Los Angeles after an 8-4 victory Wednesday night. This was the first time the Pirates swept the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium since 2000.
The Pirates jumped on the board in the first on a Josh VanMeter RBI single to right center. That lead would hold until the fourth when Chris Taylor tied the game with a single to center that scored Trea Turner. Pittsburgh regained the lead In the fifth on a Bryan Reynolds two-run home run to right. The Pirates would not give back the lead.
In the bottom half of that inning Kevin Pillar cut the lead to one when he scored on a Freddie Freeman ground out. Both of these runs would be charged to Pittsburgh starter Jose Quintana. He would only work 4.1 innings tonight giving up two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk. His mound opponent, Mitch White, worked five innings allowing three runs on four hits, walking two and striking out seven and collecting the loss.
Rodolfo Castro didn’t start tonight, but he would hit a big two run home run in the eighth after replacing an injured VanMeter. That lead would increase in the ninth. It started when Tucupita Marcano scored on an infield single by Michael Chavis. A Castro single to right would bring in Reynolds and Chavis and increase the Pirates lead to six. Los Angeles grabbed two more runs in the ninth on a Mookie Betts home run, but that would not be enough to close the gap.
Pittsburgh had some key defensive plays as well. Diego Castillo made a key throw to Hayes at third for an out in the third inning. Hayes and Chavis made a unique 5-3-5 double play in the sixth. Not to be outdone, Reynolds turned a double play in the seventh when he threw out Gavin Lux at home on what the Dodgers had hoped would be a sac fly.
Chase De Jong collected the win after working 1.1 innings, his second of the season. The bullpen performed really well during this series against Los Angeles. After going 4-2 on this six-game west coast swing, the Pirates will head back to PNC Park on Friday to begin a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Record vs. Dodgers: 5-1
Record vs. N.L. West: 9-6
Record on the Road: 11-13
Overall Record: 22-27
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
