It was a game of crooked numbers over consistent scoring. In the end, the Pirates’ big rallies in the first and sixth innings proved to be the decisive factor against a Dodger team that couldn’t score more than two runs in an inning in this 9-7 defeat.
Assessing the timing of these two big rallies for Pittsburgh, the Pirates offense capitalized on early issues from Clayton Kershaw and later on did the same against the first reliever out of the Dodgers’ bullpen, Edgardo Henríquez.
Kershaw made his 450th regular-season appearance by taking the mound against the Pirates, and one of the benefits of such a lengthy and successful career is the composure to deal exclusively with what’s in front of you. The start of the game went as poorly as it possibly could’ve gone for Kershaw, and by the time he claimed his first out, the Pirates had put up four runs, rallying around command issues that saw Kershaw walk two of the first three hitters.
To be fair to Kershaw, that rally could’ve been more contained if Teoscar Hernández had made a play on a Tommy Pham bases-loaded pop fly that had an xBA of .100.
What for most pitchers could indicate the beginning of a rather disastrous performance, for Kershaw, it ended up being the sole thing in the way of a terrific performance, as the left-hander completely shut down the Pirates thereafter.
Kershaw still walked a couple of batters in the next four innings he pitched, signaling things weren’t exactly clicking for him, but that was all the Pirates would get after that crooked number in the first. The southpaw didn’t allow a hit from the second inning onward, and with this offense, eight innings to get back from a four-run deficit was no insurmountable task, far from it.
In the middle of the game, right after Kershaw had already left, Orel Hershiser made a point to say that it is Kershaw Appreciation Day whenever he pitches, and that couldn’t ring more true. It’s all the more amazing that he’s still so very valuable at this point in his career, and tonight’s five-inning effort after that horrendous beginning proves just that.
Once upon a time, a Gold Glove winner, Kershaw saw his life flash before his eyes in the final at-bat of his evening. Tommy Pham hit a screaming liner that nearly took Kershaw’s head off, only to end up safely in his glove.
Offensively, the Dodgers had a productive game in many ways. They accumulated 11 hits, many of them no cheapies, with Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages both going yard. The issue was not being able to put rallies together when your opponent flourished in that department.
Take the second inning, for example. Los Angeles loaded the bases with no outs for Pages and looked poised for a big inning. Pages grounded into a double play, and after an Alex Freeland strikeout, the inning was over just like that, with a single run crossing the plate.
Bit by bit, they eventually got the game to 4-4, but as soon as Kershaw left the mound, the doors unraveled with the bullpen facing similar issues. Edgardo Henríquez walked the first two hitters he faced and paid the price for it with both coming around to score in a three-run inning to give the Pirates the lead.
The two teams traded runs late in the game, and Los Angeles actually had a very real chance at tying things up in the ninth. Coming into the inning down 9-6, old friend and now the Pirates closer Dennis Santana walked Miguel Rojas and allowed an RBI double to Ohtani. After that, though, he got the next three hitters, testing the hearts of Pittsburgh fans with a Will Smith two-out fly ball that died right at the wall for the final out.
Home runs: Shohei Ohtani (46), Andy Pages (24)WP —Bubba Chandler (2-0): 4 IP, 6 hits, 3 runs, 3 strikeoutsLP — Edgardo Henríquez (0-1): 0.1 IP, 1 hit, 3 runs, 2 walksSV – Dennis Santana (12): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 walk
Shohei Ohtani will pitch at PNC Park for the first time in his career, and the Pittsburgh Pirates will counter with the right-hander Braxton Ashcraft. Same start time at 3:40 p.m. (PT).