Takeaways and Throwaways – Pirates Swept by Dodgers

The Pittsburgh Pirates were beaten by the Dodgers in the third and final game of their series.  Kenta Maeda pitched into the 9th inning and kept the Pirates’ bats quiet most of the night.

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FINAL:  Los Angeles Dodgers 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 2

Takeaways

• Josh Harrison had three hits on the night accounting for 60% of the Pirates’ hits for the evening.  Harrison’s batting average is now at .299 and his on base percentage is .349.  He appears to have found a groove at the top of the batting order.
• Francisco Cervelli continues to hit the ball hard.  He had a ninth inning home run to put the Pirates on the board and a single to right field that one-hopped into Yasiel Puig‘s glove.  He also hit another line drive right at the Dodger center fielder.
• Wade LeBlanc came on in relief of Chad Kuhl in the 6th and pitched two scoreless innings.  LeBlanc did not give up a hit, walked one and struck out one.

Throwaways

• Chad Kuhl continues to struggle in the first inning.  Tonight he started off great, striking out Joc Pederson and Corey Seager.  Unfortunately, he then walked Justin Turner and gave up a two run home run to Cody Bellinger on a change-up he left up and on the outside part of the plate.  Later in the first inning, he also gave up a two-out, run-scoring single to Chase Utley.  Kuhl lasted only five innings with a line of 6 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB and 4 strikeouts.
• Andrew McCutchen was less than spectacular at the plate tonight.  He went 0-for-4 tonight with two strikeouts and now has a batting average of .161 for the month of May.  Pitchers are challenging him over the plate with fast balls and opposing defenses are shifting him hard to the pull side with good results.
• The Pirates offense hasn’t given fans much to cheer about lately.  They scored a grand total of 6 runs in this three game set against the Dodgers.  Harrison and Cervelli were the only Pittsburgh Pirates able to muster hits off Kenta Maeda tonight.

Line Of the Night

Josh Harrison: 3-for-4, 2B with a run scored

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The Pirates were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Who was your Player of the Game tonight?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) May 11, 2017

Up Next

The Pittsburgh Pirates will be glad to get out of Los Angeles after the drubbing they took at the hands of the Dodgers.  They move on to play a four game series in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Gerrit Cole will take the mound for the Pirates.  Cole is coming off a dominant performance in his last start against the Milwaukee Brewers where he allowed only one earned run in seven innings.  Zach Greinke will toe the rubber for the Diamondbacks.  Greinke has an ERA of 3.09 and a very respectable WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) of 1.17.  David Freese and Adam Frazier may return sometime during the Arizona series and their bats will be a welcome addition to a struggling Pirates offense.