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The Dodgers and Pirates knew rain was on the horizon for their series finale on Thursday. The rain eventually came during the eighth and the the game was called after an hour delay. Luckily for the Dodgers, they were able to have the 6-3 lead, which resulted in them leaving Pittsburgh with the victory.
Mookie Betts got this game started with a bang. On the third pitch he saw, Betts crushed a homer over the center field fence. That was his first homer in nearly a month, as the last homer he hit was on May 18 against the D-Backs.
Betts was making an impact not only at the plate, but with his glove as well. In the second inning, he made an incredible catch and had an even better throw to prevent a run and have an inning-ending double play.
The Dodgers tacked on three runs in the third inning to give them a bit of a cushion. They loaded the bases to begin the inning, bringing Zach McKinstry up with zero outs. He flew out, but brought in the go-ahead run. After an intentional walk to Austin Barnes, the bases were loaded for starter Julio Urias.
I guess the Pirates didn’t get the memo that Urias can absolutely rake. He worked a great at bat and singled in two runs, giving the Dodgers a 4-1 lead. Urias now leads all pitchers in baseball with seven runs driven in on the year. Sorry Clayton Kershaw, looks like Urias might be stealing your Silver Slugger Award.
Urias would end up giving the Dodgers six innings. He allowed three runs on six hits and had five strikeouts to go with zero walks. It was another solid outing for the young lefty.
McKinstry drove in another run in the seventh inning to help extend the Dodgers’ lead to two. The Dodgers were beginning to do damage in the eighth inning before the game was called. Betts and Max Muncy reached base to begin the inning, with Justin Turner singling in a run to make it 6-3 Dodgers.
With runners on first and second and one out, Albert Pujols was at the plate for the Dodgers. After seeing three pitches, the game was put on pause due to rain.
Eventually, the game was called and the Dodgers were rewarded with the victory, giving them the series sweep against the Pirates.
Thursday particulars
WP: Julio Urias (9-2) 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 SO
LP: Mitch Keller (3-7) 2 2⁄3 IP, 4 ER, 3 BB
SV: Phil Bickford (1) 1 IP, 0 ER
HR: Mookie Betts (6) Bryan Reynolds (10)