Dodgers bash Pirates in series finale

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Apr 27, 2025

Published in Baseball

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LOS ANGELES — There were plenty of positives for the Pittsburgh Pirates on their six-game Los Angeles road trip. Sunday was not one of them.

The Los Angeles Dodgers crushed the Pirates 9-2 in Sunday’s series finale, scoring five runs in the first two innings off Pirates starter Bailey Falter and managing 14 hits overall. The Dodgers bullpen held the Pirates scoreless for the final eight innings after starter Tyler Glasnow left the game with an injury.

Little went right for the Pirates after the top of the first. Designated hitter Andrew McCutchen and first baseman Enmanuel Valdez hit back-to-back homers off Glasnow, giving Pittsburgh an early lead.

That lead didn’t last long. The Dodgers can struggle against velocity, but hit most other pitching hard. They jumped on Falter, scoring four runs in the first inning on three singles and a defensive miscue.

That miscue gave the Dodgers the lead for good. Center fielder Tommy Edman hit a bouncer to third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, and while it was awkward for Hayes, it’s a play the Gold Glove winner has made many times before. Instead it hopped past Hayes and into the left field corner. Freddie Freeman tried to score from first base and it looked like the Pirates were going to get him easily, but Hayes’ relay throw — which looked to be on target — went straight past catcher Joey Bart to allow Freeman to score.

Hayes was charged with two errors on the play, one fielding and one throwing, while Edman ended up at third. He scored three pitches later on a single from left fielder Andy Pages.

Glasnow was removed from the game before the second inning started, walking off the field after experiencing tightness in his right shoulder during warmups. Four Dodger relievers combined to finish the game, allowing seven hits and striking out 12.

The Pirates went 3-3 in Los Angeles, taking two of three from the Angels and shutting out the Dodgers 3-0 on Friday night behind a gem from ace Paul Skenes. They were competitive in the first five games of the trip before the Dodgers dominated on Sunday.

It was over when …

… Pages hit a two-run homer off reliever Kyle Nicolas in the fifth inning, extending the Los Angeles lead to 7-2. Pages terrorized the Pirates over the three-game series, going 10 for 12 (.833), including 4 for 5 with a career-high four RBIs on Sunday.

On the mound

Falter gave up seven runs, five earned, in 4 1/3 innings. He allowed eight hits and walked two batters, striking out two.

Nicolas finished the fifth and got two outs in the sixth, but struggled with hard contact and his command. He allowed two runs on four hits and three walks, leaving the game with the bases loaded. Colin Holderman got Kiké Hernandez to ground into a fielder’s choice, stranding all three runners, then pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

At the plate

McCutchen went 4 for 4, following his first inning homer with three singles to left field. It was his sixth consecutive day in the lineup as a designated hitter.

Hayes and second baseman Adam Frazier had two singles in the seventh inning, but they were erased on an Isiah Kiner-Falefa double play. Hayes was the only Pirate to make it into scoring position until Frazier singled in the top of the ninth and advanced to second on defensive indifference.

Most valuable player

Pages did the damage offensively for the Dodgers, but their bullpen deserves credit for keeping the Pirates off the board. Dodgers right-handed reliever Ben Casparius came in after Glasnow’s injury, warmed up on the field, then threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out five.

Up next

The Pirates will travel back to Pittsburgh following the game and will be off Monday. They begin a three-game series with the NL Central-leading Cubs (17-11) on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. ET. Starting pitchers for the series have not been announced yet.

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