Ryan Pepiot wild in debut, Dodgers lose a series in Pittsburgh

The Dodgers weren’t a model of consistency in this series, especially on the hitting side of things, culminating in a 5-3 loss to the Pirates on Wednesday at PNC Park.

A Monday loss to José Quintana gave Pittsburgh its first win by a starting pitcher in 2022, and an 11-1 thrashing on Tuesday showed the opposite end of the spectrum for the Dodgers, while the pitching remained mostly consistent.

In the getaway afternoon game, the Pirates opened up the scoring in the sixth inning, jumping on Tommy Kahnle with a couple of home runs from Jack Suwinski and Josh VanMeter, both on the fastball.

Wednesday was marked by the debut of highly touted prospect, Ryan Pepiot.

The 6’3” right-hander followed the footsteps of what Dodger fans usually see from the previous night’s starter, Tony Gonsolin. A Houdini-esque performance that involves getting in and out of multiple gems from start to finish was on display.

A 2.000 WHIP and a 0.00 ERA aren’t supposed to go together, but that was the final line for Pepiot over three innings and 77 stressful pitches. He allowed five walks, and some warning track power, but left the game unscathed allowing only a hit and racking up three strikeouts.

Evan Phillips and Alex Vesia followed Pepiot with back-to-back scoreless innings until the Pirates ambushed Kahnle in the sixth.

In a piggyback game much like what was seen with Gonsolin and Anderson early in the season, the Pirates shut down the Dodgers offense over the first six innings with three apiece from Dillon Peter’s and Max Kranick, each allowed a couple of hits but managed to keep zeroes on the board.

The Dodger offense finally woke up in the top of the seventh inning. Chris Stratton came on and loaded the bases with a couple of walks sandwiched in between a throwing error. The red-hot Edwin Ríos proceeded to empty them with a three-run double.

The offense had the chance to take the lead with the bases loaded again, but Will Smith lined out to the shortstop, and Muncy struck out looking on a 3-2 changeup.

The usually reliable Daniel Hudson had a poor outing today. The Pirates retook the lead in the bottom of the seventh with a Vogelbach solo shot, the third Pittsburgh homer of the day. Hudson did however escape the jam with second and third after a lineout double play.

David Bednar came in for the final two innings and dominated the Dodgers. The Pirates even tacked on an extra run in the bottom of the eighth off Brusdar Graterol, primarily because Gavin Lux misplayed a single-turned triple in left filed.

The Dodgers come home with a winning road trip, but a sour taste from dropping this series to the Pirates.

Wednesday’s particulars

Home Runs: Jack Suwinski (2), Josh VanMeter (2), and Dan Vogelbach (5)

WP — Will Crowe (2-2): ⅔ IP, 2 walks, 1 strikeout

LP — Daniel Hudson (1-2): 1 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 strikeout

Sv — David Bednar (5): 2 IP, 3 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers return home to face the Philadelphia Phillies in a four-game set. Tyler Anderson starts the opener Thursday night (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), against Zack Wheeler.