Andrew McCutchen showed the nation why he was last years NL MVP going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and a nice sliding catch on defense as the Pirates (26-30) defeated the Dodgers (30-28) 5-3 on Sunday night in front of a National ESPN audience.
McCutchen started things off for the Pirates in the first hitting a two-out double off of the left field wall. Ike Davis and Russell Martin followed with walks to load the bases. Dodgers starter Zach Greinke was clearly flustered with the strike zone during the inning which aided in the walks. Pedro Alvarez then hit a 2 RBI single past a shifted Dodger defense and into left field for a Pirates early 2-0 advantage.
After Pirates starter Edinson Volquez allowed the Dodgers to cut the lead in half after a Justin Turner RBI single, McCutchen took matters into his own hands again taking another first pitch fastball to the center field seats.
Turner countered again with a solo home run of his own, but Cutch answered with a lead-off double to start the sixth. Alvarez again knocked him in with a RBI single up the middle to put the Bucs up by two. Josh Harrison added insurance in the seventh with his second home run of his at bat after the first hooked foul at the last second.
Volquez did his best Houdini impersonation in the first three innings allowing a runner to reach scoring position in each inning only to allow one run. From there, other than the Turner home run, Volquez put the Dodgers down in order to protect the lead.
The bullpen trio of Justin Wilson, Tony Watson and Mark Melancon threw three innings of no-hit ball setting up Jason Grilli for the save up by three runs. He recorded the first two outs with ease before experiencing location problems causing him to walk Turner and pinch-hitter Jamie Romak.
Scott Van Slyke then hit a pinch-hit broken bat single to left — that would have left the yard had the bat stayed intact — to make it a 5-3 game with runners on the corners. Grilli recovered however, getting Dee Gordon to line out sharply to Clint Barmes.
Final Score: Pirates 5, Dodgers 3.
The Pirates take three-of-four from the Dodgers and will bus down to San Diego to start a three-game set starting tomorrow night.
Starters Lines
Volquez (W, 3-4): 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K’s, 1 HR. 77 Pitches (49 Strikes).
Greinke (L, 8-2): 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K’s, 1 HR, 1 HBP. 102 Pitches (61 Strikes).
Tomorrow’s Starters
(RHP) Charlie Morton (PIT): 1-7, 3.29 ERA
TBD (SD)
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(Photo Credit: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
