Pirates Fall Behind Dodgers Early, Losing Streak Hits Five

The Pittsburgh Pirates saw their tailspin worsen on Friday night, as they lost 9-5 to the Los Angeles Dodgers after facing a six-run deficit early. Their five-game losing streak marks their third-such skid this season, and their first since early May… one made all the worse now as their playoff hopes begin to dwindle.

Mitch Keller got knocked around, charged with seven runs in four innings—including homers from MVP candidates Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani. Pittsburgh (56-59) showed signs of mounting a comeback in the middle innings, with home runs from Oneil Cruz and Joey Bart, but their offense sputtered from there.

Recap

Freeman broke the ice with a first-inning home run. The Dodgers lit Keller up in the third inning, sending each member of their lineup to the plate and tacking on five more runs, including a two-run homer from Shohei Ohtani. Pittsburgh began to strike back, with a solo homer from Cruz and a three-run blast from Joey Bart in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.

Domingo Germán took over for Keller in the bottom of the fifth, making his Pirates’ debut after Pittsburgh selected his contract earlier in the day. He allowed a two-run homer from Enrique Hernández that kept Los Angeles comfortably ahead, but stopped the bleeding there, saving the embattled bullpen and settling in to pitch four innings.

The Bucco put a runner on second with one out in the sixth and seventh innings, but reliever (and former Pirate) Anthony Banda managed to quell the rally both times.

Oneil Cruz singled home a run in the ninth, but the Pirates couldn’t dig themselves out of the lopsided deficit.

Key Moment

Isiah Kiner-Falefa led off the game with a double. Strikeouts from Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds along with a Joey Bart groundout sent the Pirates to the dugout empty-handed, a sign of things to come as they outhit Los Angeles 11-8 but left eight runners on base.

Star of the Game

Freeman, who doubled and homered off of Keller, adding a walk for good measure.

Stat to Know

Joey Bart’s homer marked his tenth of the season despite playing in just 49 games: a 33 homer pace over the course of a 162-game season, and an excellent clip for a former second overall pick cast aside for next to nothing earlier this season.

Noteworthy

• Oneil Cruz came a triple short of the cycle.

Up Next

Paul Skenes (6-1, 1.99 ERA) looks to snap the Pirates’ losing streak, facing off against Dodgers’ rookie right-hander River Ryan (1-0, 1.72 ERA) at 9:10 pm EDT Saturday.