The much-anticipated pitchers’ duel never materialized, but the game still felt a lot like an early-August playoff preview.
Clayton Kershaw’s scoreless streak stopped in its tracks at 37 innings when Gregory Polanco hit Kershaw’s first pitch of the night over the center-field wall, and Gerrit Cole wasn’t quite at the top of his game either.
That meant the game was decided by the bullpens, and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ proved more stout in a 5-4 10th-inning win in front of a boisterous sellout crowd at PNC Park Friday night. The Pirates scored the winning run off Dodgers reliever Jim Johnson in his second inning of work. Pinch hitter Pedro Alvarez had the winning hit, a line drive to right over a five-man infield.
The Pirates probably deserved it anyway. They outhit the Dodgers 14-6.
How it happened: Kershaw’s start — four runs on nine hits over six innings — was his worst in about 2½ months, which tells you how good he has been lately. He last gave up as many as four earned runs in a start in a 4-0 loss to Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants on May 21. He last gave up that many hits in his second start of the season. The five strikeouts were his fewest since May 10. Pittsburgh mounted long, draining rallies in the fourth and fifth innings. Kershaw nearly escaped a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the fourth, but he walked catcher Chris Stewart with the bases loaded.
The Dodgers were hopeful a pennant race would bring out the best in Jimmy Rollins, who slumped through the first four months of the season. It appears to have done just that. Rollins tied the game in the seventh with a two-out double off the top of the right-field fence. He also had a couple of other hits, including a slicing bloop RBI single in the fifth. He made a strong throw behind Polanco at first to get an out after cutting off a throw from Yasiel Puig.
The Dodgers made Cole work almost as hard as Kershaw did, knocking him out after six innings. The Dodgers’ biggest hit of the night didn’t leave the infield. Howie Kendrick hit a slow roller to Aramis Ramirez, whose throw pulled first baseman Michael Morse off the bag. Joc Pederson scored from third on the play and Rollins raced all the way around from second.
Dodgers reliever Luis Avilan, one of the pitchers acquired before the trade deadline, pitched his way into and out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the eighth inning by inducing three straight ground balls.
What it means: The Dodgers knew before the game had started that the Giants had lost 7-3 in Chicago. So it was an opportunity lost rather than a game squandered. Their lead in the NL West remains three games.
Notable: Pederson continues to make strides in digging out of a monthlong slump. He doubled off the top of the right-field wall and drew a walk. … After Michael Morse lined out to Adrian Gonzalez on a diving play in the fourth inning, ESPN cameras caught him gesturing to Gonzalez and begging him to let him get just “one hit.” Gonzalez smiled and tapped his chest as if to say, “My bad.” … Before the game, manager Don Mattingly reversed himself and said Justin Turner might not return from the 15-day disabled list when he is eligible to on Tuesday. Mattingly said it could be a day or two more.
Up next: The teams continue the three-game series Saturday at 1:05 p.m. PT. Mat Latos (4-7, 4.29 ERA) makes his second start as a Dodger. He’ll be opposed by Pittsburgh left-hander Francisco Liriano (7-6, 2.92).