Friday night’s matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates featured an enticing clash between National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes and the reigning World Series champions.
Would the Pirates’ pitching sensation be humbled by one of the most formidable lineups in Major League Baseball? Or would one of the NL’s top pitchers handcuff a Dodgers offense that hasn’t yet performed to expectations?
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This time around, Skenes prevailed with 6 1/3 scoreless innings in Pittsburgh’s 3-0 victory. The right-hander notched nine strikeouts with no walks and five hits allowed.
“I think that he’s one of the best in the game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “Tonight, we really couldn’t muster much.”
However, Roberts also felt that Dodgers hitters helped Skenes out by continuing a trend of chasing pitches out of their hitting zone.
“I think that it’s hard to hit guys that good when you’re chasing the hitting zone vs. locking in on your own area,” Roberts added. “I thought tonight, as well as days preceding, we just are not as disciplined as we need to be in certain areas of the hitting zone.”
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Three relievers followed Skenes and kept the Dodgers off the scoreboard for the remaining 2 2/3 innings, giving up just one hit. David Bednar, back with the Pirates after being demoted to the minors in early April, struck out two in the ninth for his second save.
Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts batted a combined 0-for-8 at the top of the Dodgers’ batting order, giving Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández no opportunities to drive a runner in. Freeman provided the Dodgers’ best chance to score in the fourth inning, leading off with a double and advancing to third on an error by Bryan Reynolds. But Skenes retired the next three batters to strand Freeman.
Skenes has won two of his three starts versus the Dodgers going back to last season, allowing 7 runs in 11 innings in his first two matchups. He now has a 3.63 ERA against Los Angeles, averaging 13 strikeouts per nine innings.
“This is where baseball gets really fun, I think,” Skenes said afterward, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “… [Shohei] Ohtani saw my pitches today. Freddie [Freeman], I think, saw all my pitches today. And aside from today, they’ve all seen all my pitches. I’m not hiding anything from them, and they’re not hiding anything from me. I’ve seen how they attacked me, and they’ve seen how I attack them.”
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Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed his first earned run in his past four starts, but walked four batters and gave up five hits. Yet with no run support from the Dodgers’ lineup, he took his second loss of the season, dropping his record to 3-2.
The Dodgers have lost three in a row and four of their past five games, during which they’ve averaged under four runs per contest. The skid has dropped Los Angeles to third in the NL West, one game behind the San Diego Padres and a half-game below the San Francisco Giants.
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