LA Plays Home Run Derby, Leaves Pittsburgh In the Dust 8-3

Clayton Kershaw tossed a 1-2-3 frame although the Bucs did make some solid contact. The Dodgers kept on from yesterday; Joc Pederson smacked Ivan Nova's first pitch beach ball fastball over the RF fence. Max Muncy got pretty much the same pitch on a 3-0 count and he banged it over the CF wall. Then came a four-pitch walk. Nova came back to fan a pair, with a strike 'em out, throw 'em out DP to end the frame. Red-hot Eli opened the second with a two-bagger and Freeser singled him home. A line out and 6-3 DP closed the chapter. A gapper to right went off Gregory's glove and ended up a triple. Another walk followed and Kershaw tried a squeeze; Nova made a dandy play and Eli a nice tag to get the runner at home and keep it at one run. Pittsburgh went quietly in the third. Muncy hit the daily double when he sent a 2-0, knee-high change to the fans. Eli doubled up the line with two gone in the fourth and Freeser singled him home again.

On the bright side, he did set a record... (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Yasmani Grandal opened with a triple off the wall; a review to see if it was a four-bagger kept him at third. No diff; Chris Taylor homered off a 3-1 fastball. Pederson got plunked on the arm with two gone, but he finally got Muncy on a laser shot to J-Bell. The Pirates went down in order in the fifth. Justin Turner led off with a knock, but was doubled up try to advance on a fly to left, and a whiff ended the frame. Nada again for the Buccaneers in the sixth. Grandal led off with, yep, a dinger off a belt-high fastball. Taylor doubled and Dovy Neverauskas took the hill; he gave up a long fly to Enrique Hernandez on his first pitch - did you guess fastball? After fanning two, LA rubbed it in with an infield knock, but Dovy did strike out the side eventually. With an out in the seventh, Yimi Garcia fed Freeser a heater, and he dumped it into the seats; seems like a good day to stay off speed. It was two walks, two whiffs and a pop for Dovy.

JT Chargois spun in the eighth and fanned a pair in a clean inning. Felipe Vazquez came on out of boredom, we'd guess, and struck out a couple more in a calm frame. Erik Goeddell took the hill to ice the cake, and striking out the side did that.

The Pirates had five hits; the Dodgers had six home runs. *sigh*

Eli and Freeser were the Pirate attack tonight (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Notes:

• The Pirates had five hits. Freeser had three of them and Eli a pair; they accounted for all three runs.
• Ivan made the record books; five homers is the most given up by a Pirates pitcher in a single game.
• The Dodgers have hit 66 homers since June 1st and 122 total. The Pirates have hit 84 home runs all this season. LA has six guys with more homers than Gregory Polanco, who leads Pittsburgh with 11, and eight players with nine or more long balls.
• Corey Dickerson has six outfield assists this year, tied with Starling Marte. 
• Joe Musgrove went on the DL with an infected finger retro to 6/30; tomorrow's starter is TBD.
• Wade LeBlanc, 33, just signed an extension with three option years w/Seattle that could max out at $32M (it could also crap out at $2.75M, depending on bonuses reached/option(s) tendered). They flipped him from the pen to the rotation; in 11 starts, he's 3-0/3.38.