Paul Skenes delivered another dominant outing Thursday night, throwing six scoreless innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 at PNC Park, securing a three-game sweep against the National League West leaders.
The 22-year-old right-hander, last year’s National League Rookie of the Year, has steadily turned his season around. With eight strikeouts and just two hits allowed, Skenes improved to 10-9, lowering his ERA to a major league-best 1.98. After a rocky 4-8 start this year, he has now won six of his last seven decisions, giving the Pirates stability in a rebuilding season.
Oddsmakers had the Dodgers as -150 favorites entering the series finale, while Pittsburgh went off as a +130 underdog. The total was 8.5 runs, with the Pirates covering the spread thanks to early offense and strong pitching.
Los Angeles dropped five of its last six games and saw its National League West lead trimmed to two games over the idle San Diego Padres. The Dodgers managed just five hits on the night, only breaking through against the Pittsburgh bullpen in the ninth.
Mookie Betts led off the inning with a solo homer to spoil the shutout bid. The Dodgers then rallied with run-scoring singles from Pedro Pages and Miguel Rojas to cut the deficit to 5-3. Pirates reliever Colin Holderman, who entered with a 7.89 ERA, steadied himself and struck out Ben Rortvedt to end the game, notching his first season save.
Blake Snell (3-4) took the loss for Los Angeles, surrendering five runs on nine hits over five innings. The former Cy Young winner was undone in the third and fifth innings, when Pittsburgh mounted its scoring pushes.
In the third, Tommy Pham lined an RBI single to give the Pirates the early lead. An inning later, Nick Yorke provided the decisive blow, drilling a two-run double as part of a four-run fifth inning that stretched the advantage to 5-0.
The Dodgers’ best scoring opportunity against Skenes came in the second inning, when they put runners on first and second with one out. But the rookie phenom induced Betts into an inning-ending fielder’s choice, setting the tone for the rest of his outing.
For the Pirates, the sweep marked their 12th win in their last 16 games, a bright spot for a club sitting near the bottom of the NL Central. The Dodgers, meanwhile, head into the weekend searching for answers after dropping consecutive series.
Los Angeles turns its attention to Baltimore, where right-hander Tyler Glasnow (1-3, 3.41 ERA) is slated to face Orioles starter Dean Kremer (9-10, 4.52 ERA) in Friday’s opener. Pittsburgh stays home to begin a series against division-leading Milwaukee. Johan Oviedo (2-0, 3.60 ERA) will start for the Pirates opposite Quinn Priester (11-2, 3.28 ERA).
With the win, Pittsburgh handed Los Angeles its fifth loss in six games, while Skenes further cemented his reputation as one of baseball’s premier young arms. For a rebuilding Pirates team, his steady rise remains one of the season’s most promising developments.
