Pirates, Paul Skenes Complete Series Sweep Over Dodgers

Skenes was his dominant self tonight against one of baseball's best lineups. He pitched six shutout innings, striking out eight, walking one and allowing only two hits. Skenes has allowed zero runs in 12 and 1/3 innings pitched in two starts against the Dodgers this season.

He lowered his season ERA to a sterling 1.98. The 23-year-old ace will likely have three more starts to solidify his status as the National League Cy Young award winner.

Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell, a two-time Cy Young winner himself, saw some early baserunning trouble in the first. He escaped unscathed in the second after loading the bases with only one out. First baseman Freddie Freeman, the 2018 Gold Glove winner, showed off his range and made an excellent play in foul territory for the third out.

Snell went five innings, allowing five earned runs in a rare poor start. The lefty allowed nine hits and three walks, while striking out six Pirates hitters. He also took the loss in tonight's game.

Los Angeles notched its first hit of the evening in the third inning. Catcher Dalton Rushing launched a double off the centerfield wall, missing a home run by inches. Ohtani followed this up with a walk. But Mookie Betts grounded out to short to end the threat, and the inning.

Bryan Reynolds was the catalyst for the first run of the night. He smacked a single to left field to leadoff the inning. Two wild pitches and some shrewd baserunning put Reynolds on third with no outs. Reynolds had two hits and two RBIs on the night.

The Pirates pounced with Reynolds in scoring position. Tommy Pham plated him with a single to centerfield, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead after three innings.

Skenes cruised through the middle innings. After Ohtani's walk, he retired six straight Dodgers hitters.

The Pirates got on the board again in the fifth inning. Jared Triolo slapped a leadoff single to centerfield, then Nick Gonzales did the same. Reynolds squeezed another single through the left side of the infield, scoring Triolo.

The Buccos bats weren't done yet. After intentionally walking Andrew McCutchen to load the bases, Snell gave up a double to rookie Nick Yorke that scored two more runs. It was Yorke's first career double, and provided the home team with some much needed insurance runs. McCutchen would score on a fielder's choice ground ball, giving the Pirates a 5-0 lead through five innings.

It was up to Skenes and the bullpen to hold the lead. They did just that, shutting the door on any potential comeback opportunities for the Dodgers.

Four relief pitchers combined to finish what Skenes started. Yohan Ramirez pitched the seventh inning, and two outs of the eighth. Then, Evan Sisk came on to face Ohtani in a lefty on lefty matchup, and promptly forced him to pop up to second base.

Righty Dauri Moreta came on to pitch the ninth in a non-save situation. He ended the Pirates' shutout opportunity when he allowed a solo home run to Mookie Betts. Moreta continued to struggle, and allowed three more hits after Betts' blast.

The score was 5-2 when manager Don Kelly decided to pull Moreta and replace him with Colin Holderman. The righty allowed a single to give the Dodgers another run. But Holderman shut the door when he struck out pinch hitter Ben Rortverdt. He received credit for the save.

The Pirates will look to keep their winning streak going this weekend against another elite opponent. The Milwaukee Brewers, with the most wins in MLB, come to PNC Park looking to build on their NL Central lead. The Pirates will try to continue to play spoiler amid their solid post-trade deadline play.

First pitch for Friday's game at PNC Park is expected at 6:40 pm. Johan Oviedo will start for Pittsburgh, while former Pirate Quinn Priester takes the mound for Milwaukee.