Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – Series Win in Los Angeles

The Pittsburgh Pirates took the final game of the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 1-3 win on Sunday. Here are the takeaways and throwaways from the series clinching win.

Takeaways

• The Pirates gave Brett Anderson a rude welcome back from his injury, tagging him for five runs in the first inning. Jordy Mercer blasted his eighth home run, a two run shot, and then Sean Rodriguez followed him a few batters later with his 12th of the season that brought in three more runs. Because of these big hits, Chad Kuhl was able to take the mound with a substantial lead before he even threw a pitch.
• Kuhl turned in another great start on Sunday, limiting the Dodgers to just two runs on six hits across six innings of work. He also struck out five and did not issue a free pass, while continuing to show that he could be a viable option for the back end of the rotation going forward.
• Josh Harrison and Adam Frazier each collected four hits in the afternoon contest, going a combined eight for 11. They each also contributed two runs and Harrison knocked it a couple of runs as well. The team as a whole collected a lot of base hits over the last two games, but the performance by those two on Sunday really stood out.

Throwaways

• Antonio Bastardo balked in the seventh inning, which allowed Howie Kendrick to score the third run of the game for the Dodgers and moved Rob Segedin up to second base. Fortunately no other runs scored that inning, but the Dodgers are not the type of team that you can afford to give free runs to when you face them.

W – Chad Kuhl (3-0)

L – Brett Anderson (0-1)

Line of the Afternoon

Chad Kuhl gets the honor today after putting together a good start against the Dodgers.

Kuhl needed 102 pitches to complete six innings on Sunday, but overall he pitched very well. He only allowed six hits that resulted in two runs and he did not walk anyone. He also added five strikeouts to his season total as he earned the win and stays undefeated in his very young career.

Up Next

The Pirates will begin a three game series against the Giants in San Francisco on Monday at 10:15pm. Ryan Vogelsong (1-2, 2.67) will make his return to AT&T Park and face the newly acquired Matt Moore (7-8, 3.99). Vogelsong has been very good since coming back from his injury, giving up just three runs in his 12 innings of work in August. Moore has not won since joining the Giants, but has earned quality starts in both of his outings since changing team.