SWEEP: Paul Skenes Leads Pirates to Third-Straight Win Over Dodgers; Bucs Survive Drama in Ninth
PITTSBURGH — National League Cy Young favorite Paul Skenes overmatched the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers and led the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-3 win on Thursday night at PNC Park to earn a series sweep.
How We Got There
Skenes tossed six-shutout innings, holding the Dodgers (78-62) to just two hits while walking one and striking out eight – two of which came against reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani.
Tommy Pham put the Pirates (64-77) on the board with an RBI single in the second inning. Pham has 14 RBI in his last 12 games.
The score remained 1-0 until the Pirates struck four more times against Dodgers starter Blake Snell in the fifth. Bryan Reynolds singled home the first run of the inning before Nick Yorke doubled home a pair. Alexander Canario brought home Andrew McCutchen on a groundout to first base to cap off the inning.
Mookie Betts hit a solo home run off Dauri Moreta in the ninth inning to end the Pirates’ second-straight shutout bid. Later in the inning Andy Pages brought home another run and the tying run to the plate.
Colin Holderman allowed one of his two inherited runners to score but converted his first save since Aug. 10, 2023 against the Atlanta Braves.
Key Moment
Colin Holderman entered with two on and one out in the ninth. He got Hyeseong Kim to fly out to left before allowing an RBI single to Miguel Vargas. He then struck out Ben Rortvedt to end the game with the go-ahead run at the plate… and Shohei Ohtani on deck.
Player of the Game
Paul Skenes (10-9) is now above .500 for the first time since April 26 (improved to 3-2) after one of his best starts of the season. He now has an MLB-best 1.98 ERA.
Stat to Know
Paul Skenes hasn’t allowed a run in seven of his last eight starts at PNC Park. In those eight starts, Skenes has a 0.36 ERA (2er/49.2ip).
Notable Performances
- Paul Skenes: 6.0 innings, two hits, no runs, one walk, eight strikeouts, 94 pitches/65 strikes
- Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 3, one RBI, one walk, two runs
- Jared Triolo: 2 for 4, one run
- Nick Yorke: 1 for 3, one double, two RBI
Noteworthy
- Mookie Betts’ homer snapped a stretch of 17-straight scoreless innings from Pirates’ pitching.
- This is the second time the Pirates have swept the Dodgers at PNC Park. The other was Aug. 7-9, 2015.
- Thursday’s win also marked the seventh series sweep of three-plus games this season. The most they’ve had in one year since 2015 (11).
- The Pirates have won seven in a row at PNC Park and eight of their last nine.
Up Next
The Pirates will host the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night. RHP Johan Oviedo (2-0, 3.60 ERA) will start for Pittsburgh. Former Pirate RHP Quinn Priester (11-2, 3.28 ERA) will start for the Brewers. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET.
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