Los Angeles Dodgers vs Pittsburgh Pirates Match Player Stats On Aug 21, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Aug 22, 2017

PITTSBURGH -- Topping off a game of late comebacks and wasted opportunities, Yasiel Puig homered leading off the 12th inning to provide the Los Angeles Dodgers with yet another victory, 6-5 over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday at PNC Park.

Puig's homer, his 22nd, came on a 1-0 fastball from Dovydas Neverauskas (1-1), the sixth Pirates pitcher.

Luis Avilan (2-1) got the win, and Ross Stripling, the eighth Dodgers pitcher, earned his second save. Each threw a scoreless inning.

A last-ditch Pirates rally failed in the 12th when rookie Max Moroff flied out with runners on first and second.

The Dodgers (88-35) erased a 3-0 Pittsburgh lead with five runs in the seventh inning, four on Curtis Granderson's grand slam off Pittsburgh starter Gerrit Cole. A 14-year veteran, Granderson was traded by the New York Mets to the Dodgers on Friday.

Josh Harrison's one-out, RBI double for the Pirates off reliever Pedro Baez cut the lead to 5-4 in the eighth. Andrew McCutchen and David Freese then walked, loading the bases.

Josh Bell hit into a force play, scoring Harrison with the tying run, and John Jaso walked. The bases were loaded again, and Brandon Morrow replaced Baez to face Jordy Mercer. The Pirates shortstop flied out.

The Dodgers had a big chance in the 10th when Pirates reliever Joaquin Benoit walked the bases loaded, but Chris Taylor flied out to right field to end the threat.

The Pirates took a 3-0 lead on back-to-back homers by Jose Osuna and Sean Rodriguez in the second inning and a home run by Harrison in the third. All came off Dodgers starter Alex Wood, who was seeking to extend his record to 15-1.

Wood gave up three runs on five hits in six innings.

Cole retired 12 of 13 hitters before hitting Justin Turner with one out on the sixth. The Dodgers loaded the bases with two outs for Adrian Gonzalez, who was two hits shy of 2,000 in his career. Gonzalez swung at Cole's first pitch and blasted it to center field, where McCutchen caught it at the wall. The Pirates still led, but that would soon change.

Cole yielded five runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings.

The Dodgers played without Cody Bellinger, whose 34 homers and 79 RBIs make him the favorite for National League Rookie of the Year honors. He is nursing a mild ankle sprain.

NOTES: Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw, who has missed the last month with a strained back, threw 55 pitches in four innings, one more inning than planned, in a simulated game Monday. He is scheduled for a rehab start Saturday at Triple-A Oklahoma City before likely being activated next week. ... OF Sean Rodriguez has hit three homers in 12 games since rejoining the Pirates after a trade with Atlanta. ... Dodgers SS Corey Seager went 1-for-6 but extended his hitting streak to 10 games.