Pirates cough up early lead, drop series to Dodgers to close out west coast swing
LOS ANGELES — Andy Pages hit a home run, drove in a career-high four runs and tied a career best with four hits as the Los Angeles Dodgers rebounded from an early deficit to earn a 9-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
Pages had an RBI single in the first inning, when the Dodgers scored twice to emerge from a 2-0 hole, and added a two-run homer in the fifth.
Los Angeles overcame the departure of right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who left after one inning with right shoulder discomfort. Ben Casparius (3-0) went 3 2/3 scoreless innings in emergency relief with five strikeouts and Yoendrys Gomez earned a three-inning save in his Dodgers debut.
Andrew McCutchen had a home run among his four hits for the Pirates, who finished 3-3 on a six-game road trip to the Los Angeles area. Left-hander Bailey Falter, from nearby Chino Hills, gave up seven runs (five earned) on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.
McCutchen and Enmanuel Valdez hit back-to-back home runs for the Pirates in the first inning off Glasnow. The Dodgers responded with a four-run first that included a two-run single from Freddie Freeman and an RBI single from Pages.
Mookie Betts made it 5-2 in the second inning on a sacrifice fly, while a three-run fifth for Los Angeles included a home run from Teoscar Hernández and a two-run shot from Pages, who added an RBI single in the sixth.
Pages’ first inning RBI single not only increased the Dodgers’ early lead, it was a continuation of a recent hot streak. Pages delivered at least three hits in all three games against the Pirates and has multiple hits in four of his last five games.
Hernández’s home run gave him 200 in 991 career games over parts of 10 seasons. He became the 381st player to reach the milestone.
The Pirates have not announced a starter for Tuesday’s home game against the Chicago Cubs.
