Brandon Cumpton couldn’t recover from key defensive errors in the third inning as the Dodgers took advantage to put up 11 runs (10 earned) off of Cumpton in the third and fourth innings leading to a Dodger 12-2 victory over the Pirates on Saturday night.
After allowing two first inning two-out RBI singles to Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp, Cumpton retired the next four hitters and seemed to have gotten into a grove. That would be short lived though, as Andre Ethier sent a fly ball to the warning track in left field to start the third. Starling Marte made the one handed catch at the wall before casually dropping it after bumping into the wall allowing Ethier to reach on the error.
Yasiel Puig followed with a grounder that deflected off of Jordy Mercer allowing Ethier to go to third and Puig to reach. From there, Cumpton –who should have been in a two-out, no one on situation– couldn’t mentally recover as he immediately gave up two singles, a double and a sac fly to push the LA lead to 6-0.
Cumpton didn’t make it out of the fourth as he allowed three more two-out runs via a Ramirez two-run homer and a Justin Turner RBI single. Jeanmar Gomez then came in and allowed a two-run triple by Drew Butera to put the nail in the coffin. Ramirez later added another homer — his second of the night — to finish the Dodger scoring at a dozen.
The Pirates received a RBI double by Mercer and a Travis Snider RBI single for their offensive output.
Final Score: Dodgers 12, Pirates 2.
Starters Lines
Cumpton (L, 0-2): 3 2/3 IN, 11 H, 11 R, 10 ER, 2 BB, 2 K’s, 1 HR. 75 Pitches (48 Strikes).
Ryu (W, 6-2): 6 IN, 10 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 K’s. 109 Pitches (73 Strikes).
The Pirates will look for the series win tomorrow evening on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball in the final game of the four-game set.
Tomorrow’s Starters
(RHP) Edinson Volquez (PIT): 2-4, 4.30 ERA
(RHP) Zach Greinke (LAD): 8-1, 2.18 ERA
First pitch is set for 8:07.
(Photo Credit: Stephen Dunn / Getty Images )
