Dodgers offense heating up in May

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers look to continue their offensive surge in the middle game of their three-game series against the Pirates on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

The 12 runs on Monday night marked the third time this month the Dodgers have scored in double digits. So far in May, the club is averaging 7.83 runs per game (in all of six games), after averaging 4.31 runs in April.

The offense started to pick up during the last four days of April, a four-game winning streak for the Dodgers that saw them score at least five runs in four straight games. Dating back to April 27, the Dodgers have scored 68 runs in their last 10 games, and are 8-2 during that stretch.

The Dodgers only had one 10-game stretch better than that in 2016, scoring 71 runs from Aug. 13-23.

Since the start of 2010, the Dodgers have only had ten 10-game stretches during which they scored at least 68 runs, and half of those including overlapping games.

Starting with Friday night in San Diego, the Dodgers have scored 30 runs in three games, escalating from eight runs to 10, then to 12.

The last time the Dodgers scored eight or more runs in four straight games was during their magical 42-8 romp in 2013, when they did so from July 21-24 in Washington and Toronto.

That hot Dodgers offense will have to solve Ivan Nova, who has been stellar since becoming a Pirate. So far this season, the right-hander has a 2.14 ERA in six starts, with 27 strikeouts and only one walk in his 42 innings. Since Pittsburgh traded for Nova last Aug. 1, he has 79 strikeouts against just four walks in 17 starts.

Game info

Time: 7:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA