LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gavin Lux continued his resurgence with three RBIs, Teoscar Hernandez hit a home run and the Los Angeles Dodgers got past standout rookie pitcher Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 on Saturday night.
Hernandez had three hits for the Dodgers, who won for the fifth time in their last seven games with their only two defeats in the stretch coming to the National League-best Philadelphia Phillies.
Skenes, who started the All-Star Game for the National League, gave up eight home runs before Saturday and none of them were on his “splinker,” a hybrid of a splitter and sinker, until Hernandez went deep in the fifth inning.
“I’m not going to stop throwing it,” Skenes said after the outing. “He won the Home Run Derby this year, right? He won it for a reason so you gotta tip your cap. I’m gonna keep attacking guys with that pitch.”
Skenes (6-2) gave up a career-high four runs on six hits over six innings with one walk and eight strikeouts.
The hard-throwing right-hander has given up more than two runs in just three of his 15 starts, with two of those three coming against the Dodgers. He earned a win over Los Angeles on June 5 when he gave up three runs over five innings.
“Just looking at it as objectively as possible, obviously the line wasn’t fantastic but there was a lot of good, I thought,” Skenes said. “Honestly, a lot of the pitches that I didn’t execute as well as I could have or should have ended up as outs, and that’s how it goes. I won’t lose any sleep over the hits they got or the home run. They’re good hitters.”
The Dodgers won despite losing rookie right-hander River Ryan after 4 2/3 scoreless innings because of right forearm tightness. Ryan departed during an at-bat against Michael A. Taylor in the fifth inning when he flinched and held his right arm close to his side on a pitch.
“I definitely didn’t want to come out of the game, I wanted to finish,” said Ryan, who is scheduled for further tests with team doctors on Sunday morning. “But they saw me grimace on the mound and they’re not going to take any chances, so they decided to end it there.”
Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a home run in the ninth inning for the Pirates, who tied a season-high with their sixth consecutive loss. It was Hayes’ fourth homer of the season.
Lux had an RBI double to left-center field off Skenes in the first inning and a two-run single off him in the third. After a slow start this season, Lux now has hits in 15 of the 20 games since the All-Star break.
In his first matchup against Skenes in June, Lux struck out in his first two at-bats.
“I think I’m in a better frame of mind,” Lux said. “Since we faced him in early June, just having more at-bats and feeling confident, seeing more pitches. The second time you see a guy, hopefully you see him better than the first time.”
Following Ryan's exit, left-hander Alex Vesia took over and pitched a scoreless inning before right-hander Michael Kopech (3-8) went 1 1/3 innings to earn the win.
The Dodgers made it 4-0 in the fifth inning when Hernandez hit a home run off Skenes to right-center field, his 26th on the season. Skenes has allowed nine home runs and three have come in his two starts against Los Angeles.
“The ball Teoscar hit was a mistake that stayed up,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “The two pitches to Lux, they weren’t bad pitches and he put pretty good swings on them. (Skenes) didn’t give up a ton of hard contact other than that.”
The Dodgers’ defense did its part, with center fielder Kevin Kiermaier taking away extra bases from Rowdy Telez in the fourth inning on a running catch before slamming into the wall. Third baseman Enrique Hernandez took away at least a double from Joey Bart in the sixth inning with a leaping catch near the foul line.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Domingo Germán came out of his four-inning Pirates' debut Friday in good health and will continue to operate in a relief role, though Shelton said they could consider a starting role in the near future. ... RHP Jared Jones (lat) will have at least one more outing at Triple-A Indianapolis before a return is considered. ... OF Andrew McCutchen was not in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game but was available off the bench.
Dodgers: 3B Max Muncy (oblique), who hasn’t played since May 15, had a double and a walk in his first rehab game with Triple-A Oklahoma City. ... OF Tommy Edman (wrist/ankle), who was acquired from the Cardinals at the trade deadline, had his first rehab game since joining the Dodgers, collecting a hit in three at-bats for Oklahoma City.
UP NEXT
Pirates: LHP Bailey Falter (5-7, 3.87 ERA) pitched two innings Tuesday against the Padres and was pulled after a lengthy rain delay.
Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow (9-6, 3.54 ERA) will face his original club, who drafted him in the fifth round in 2011.
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