Tarik Skubal struck out 11 and Kyle Tucker had a two-run single, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a win at home over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Tarik Skubal has been doing his best to make a good impression during his first starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers. On Saturday night in front of the home fans, Skubal was electric while also giving up a few runs, too.
Skubal struck out 11 Pittsburgh Pirates hitters in seven innings of work and Kyle Tucker came through with a big hit. That proved to be just enough for Los Angeles to beat Pittsburgh 4-3.
In those seven innings, Skubal allowed five hits, three earned runs, walked one, and had those double-digit strikeouts. Evan Phillips and Jack Dreyer earned holds and Tanner Scott picked up his 19th save.
Tucker delivers in fifth inning
Tucker's big hit came in the bottom of the fifth inning, With two outs and runners at second and third base, Tucker grounded a single to right field. Mookie Betts and Max Muncy scored on Tucker's hit, putting the Dodgers up for good at 4-3.
Muncy had two doubles for Los Angeles, but the team didn't record a home run against Pirates pitching. The Dodgers were 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left nine total runners on base.
Jared Jones got the start for the Pirates and went four innings, giving up three hits and two earned runs. He walked five and struck out five in his outing. Reliever Yohan Ramirez took the loss, falling to 6-4 this season. Ramirez worked one inning and gave up two hits, two earned runs, didn't walk a batter, and struck out two.
Right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez went 2-for-3 with a run scored for Pittsburgh. As for the Pirates, they were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left four total runners on base in Saturday night's game.
Hernandez gets Dodgers on scoreboard
Oneil Cruz's one-out triple in the top of the first inning off of Skubal scored Valdez and Bryan Reynolds to put Pittsburgh up 2-0. They added another run and finished their half of the first inning with a 3-0 advantage.
The Dodgers finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth on Teoscar Hernandez's RBI single, scoring Muncy and making the score now 3-1.
In the same inning with two outs, newly recalled Alek Thomas' RBI single scored Tucker and got the Dodgers a bit closer at 3-2.
Everything then was set up for Tucker, whose struggles at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium have been well documented, to show the home fans something good. It must have let Tucker exhale in a big, big way after that key hit.
Now, the Dodgers hope that he can continue to build off of that hit as the MLB season enters its final weeks. Postseason play is just around the corner for Los Angeles, too.
