It got ugly quick for the Dodgers on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh as Los Angeles fell to the Pirates 10-6 at PNC Park. That makes it two losses in a row for LA, putting them at 5-8 in their last 13 games.
Here are some quick takeaways from their second consecutive loss to the Pirates:
1. Doomed early
James Paxton cruised through the first inning for the Dodgers, but struggled badly in the second where he allowed seven runs (six earned) on six hits. He exited with two outs in the inning. LA has largely stayed afloat during their offensive malaise thanks to stellar pitching. They did not get that Wednesday from the veteran starter and the Dodgers couldn't climb out of an early 7-0 hole.
2. As advertised
Pirates rookie starter Paul Skenes was excellent in his five innings of work. He allowed three runs on six hits while walking one and striking out eight. While the numbers don't pop off the screen, his stuff certainly did. There's a reason the Pirates called up Skenes after only 12 minor league starts. He's the real deal and made some very good Dodgers hitters look very silly.
3. Shohei got 'em
Skenes was good, but Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday was better. The Dodgers designate hitter struck out in his first at-bat, but smoked a two-run home run to centerfield in the third inning to open the scoring for LA. He then got on top of a 98 MPH fastball that was way up in the zone for a single through the right side. Skenes grew up an Angels fan watching Ohtani at Angel Stadium, and even attended his pitching debut for the Halos in 2018. On Wednesday he had to watch Ohtani quickly figure him out. The home run also marked Ohtani's first at PNC Park.
4. Runs come when RISP score
The Dodgers were 27-for-147 with runners in scoring position entering Wednesday's game. They were better in this one and finished 3-for-9 in those situations. One of those hits didn't score a run when Will Smith's sixth-inning single moved Chris Taylor from second to third. A later single by Smith scored Freddie Freeman from second. It wasn't a perfect night at the plate for LA, but there were definitely signs of life between a better night with RISP and a couple home runs.
5. Turning the Pages
Andy Pages singled in the third inning, then cranked a home run off of Skenes in the fifth to give himself a third multi-hit game in his last five starts. He's also hit safely in all five of those games. The quicker Pages can get hot again and add a spark to the bottom of the Dodgers order the sooner they'll come out of their hitting doldrums.
6. Back in the swing
Jason Heyward is starting to get in a groove after a back injury kept him out for 40 games early in the season. In his first nine games back off the IL he was hitting just .167. On Wednesday he clubbed three hits for his first three-hit game of the year. One of those hits was a booming double off the right field wall off of Skenes. It was his second multi-hit game in his last six, and he's gotten at least one hit in four of those six contests. His average has now inflated to .269.
