Battlin’ Bucs Can’t Overcome Keller’s Shakiness; Pirates Fall to Dodgers in Rubber Match

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PITTSBURGH — Mitch Keller’s struggles continued and the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn’t mount a comeback for the second straight night, resulting in a 8-6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park in Thursday’s rubber match.

Scoring Plays​

Top 3rd, 3-0 LAD: Shohei Ohtani got the Dodgers (44-25) on the board with his second homer in as many games, a solo laser off Mitch Keller (5-4). Later in the inning, Kyle Tucker blooped a two-out two-run single to shallow left field.

Top 4th, 5-0 LAD: With runners on the corners, Freddie Freeman delivered an RBI single to left, and Andy Pages scored from third on a Keller wild pitch. Keller retired the first two batters of the inning before the Dodgers had five batters in a row reach safely.

Bottom 5th, 5-4 LAD: The Pirates (35-34) sent 10 batters to the plate and got within a run of the Dodgers. Rafael Flores hammered a 440-foot solo home run to center off Justin Wrobleski, the first of his career. Three batters later, Brandon Lowe clubbed a two-run home run to right. Spencer Horwitz capped off the inning with an RBI single off Will Klein (3-2).

Top 7th, 7-4 LAD: Los Angeles extended its lead to three by scoring a pair off Evan Sisk. Alex Call beat a throw home on Lowe’s throw home from second on a Miguel Rojas grounder, and Dalton Rushing scored on a Sisk wild pitch.

Top 8th, 8-4 LAD: Rojas delivered a sacrifice fly to left off Brandan Bidois with the bases loaded and one out.

Bottom 8th, 8-6 LAD: Tyler Callihan tripled off Edgaro Henriquez to open the inning. The three-bagger was followed by back-to-back doubles from Jake Mangum and Flores to bring the Pirates back within two.

Key Moments​

The Pirates had a chance to add on in their big fifth inning, but Will Klein struck out Jake Mangum looking on three pitches with the bases loaded for the third out.

Player of the Game​

Prior to leaving the game in the top of the seventh with left knee inflammation in the seventh, Shohei Ohtani homered and reached base in all four of his plate appearances. He finished 2 for 2 with a homer, two walks, an RBI and two runs.

Stat to Know​

This is the first time the Pirates lost a series to the Dodgers at PNC Park since they were swept in three games in 2021. Pittsburgh had one each of their four home series against Los Angeles from 2022-25.

Notable Performances​

• Mitch Keller: 4.0 innings, seven hits, five runs, four walks, three strikeouts, 98 pitches/56 strikes
• Rafael Flores Jr.: 2 for 3, one home run, one double, one walk, two RBI, one run
• Brandon Lowe: 1 for 4, one home run, one walk, two RBI, one run
• Spencer Horwitz: 2 for 5, one RBI
• Nick Gonzales: 2 for 5, one run
• Tyler Callihan: 1 for 1, one triple, one walk, one run

Noteworthy​

• Mitch Keller’s four walks matched a season-high. He also hit plunked two batters and had a wild pitch.
• Tyler Callihan has reached base safely in six straight plate appearances
• PNC Park drew 30,000-plus fans in each of the three games between the Pirates and Dodgers. The last time the Pirates had a weekday series where each of the three games were played in front of 30,000 fans was in 2016.
• The Pirates recalled OF Esmerlyn Valdez from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned INF Davis Wenzel.
• The Pirates placed C Shawn Ross on the taxi squad.

Up Next​

The Pirates will continue their homestand against the Miami Marlins on Friday night. RHP Braxton Ashcraft (5-3, 3.28 ERA) will be on mound for Pittsburgh opposite RHP Sandy Alcantara (5-4, 4.33 ERA). First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET.

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