Dodgers Pick Apart Pirates with 17 hits in 8-4 Victory

Wild Thing, you make my heart sing!

The Dodgers overcame another wild start by Brandon McCarthy as Los Angeles rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-4, on Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.

McCarthy couldn't hit the broadside of the barn as he struggled with his location for the third consecutive start. Three walks and a hit batter allowed the Pirates to score in the first inning without McCarthy relinquishing a hit.

"I need some time off. I need to get my body to where it needs to be both mentally and physically," McCarthy who expects to be placed on the DL said. "I don't know how much more of that they want to see."

Two hits and two more walks added another run in the second before he left the game. McCarthy lasted just 1 and 2/3 allowing three runs on two hits with five walks and three strikeouts.

"There was obviously a lot of traffic today," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the team's season-high 11 walks. "We certainly limited damage and our guys put us in a chance to win the baseball game."

McCarthy has walked five or more batters in three straight games, becoming the first Dodger starter to do that since Kaz Ishii in 2004.

"Last year I had an elbow ligament that was not attached at all, it was literally putty at the end of me elbow and I was still able to throw strikes and be functional," McCarthy said. "Nothing makes me feel better right now. We'll talk to the doctors and see how we want to proceed."

Thankfully, the now more mature, 20-year-old version of Julio Urias (3-2) came out of the bullpen to resuscitate L.A., throwing 2 and 2/3 innings of scoreless relief earning the victory out of the bullpen.

"I try and make the best of whatever opportunity I'm given," Urias said after the game through a translator. "The most important thing is that we win."

His manager agreed and went a step further on Saturday, calling him Urias the player of the game.

"Julio was the player of the game," Roberts said. "He gave us length today and that was huge."

The Dodgers chipped away at the lead with a run in each of the first three frames including unearned runs in the second and third.

The picket fence continued as they added a run in the fourth, but they broke the game open with two runs each in the sixth and seventh.

Los Angeles picked apart the Pirates with a combined eight runs on 17 hits. Chase Utley and Howie Kendrick both went 2-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored.

"It's a huge win for us," said Joc Pederson who had three of the 17 hits in the game. "We grinded it out, Julio stepped up big, and we got some runs and won the ball game."

Corey Seager went 3-for-5, recording his fifth consecutive multi-hit game of the season as he leads the team with 40 multi-hit games on the year.

Pederson homered for the Dodgers finishing 3-for-5 with a home run, double, and two runs scored.

"He's a heavy sinker ball guy so I was just looking for a pitch up in the zone," Pederson said of his home run swing. "We're playing good baseball right now."

Gerrit Cole (7-8) took the loss allowing six runs (four earned) on 12 hits with three strikeouts in 4 and 1/3 innings. After a stellar display of defense on Friday night, Pittsburgh committed three errors behind their starter on Saturday. 

"The capitalized on my mistakes, and they found holes," Cole said after the game. "They were able to put really good swings on everything."

Jung Ho Kang reached base a season-high four times and hit a solo home run off Pedro Baez in the top of the eighth inning. The long ball was the first for Kang since June 24, a span of 28 games, ending the longest drought of his career."

Kenley Jansen entered the game with two outs in the ninth with the tying run on deck and he promptly struck out Gregory Polanco for his 35th save of the season.

Los Angeles sits ½ game behind the rival Giants for first place in the NL West as the await the outcome between Baltimore and San Francisco later tonight.

Players of the Game:

Joc Pederson: 3-for-5 with a homer, double, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Howie Kendrick: 2-for-5 with an RBI and run scored.
Chase Utley: 2-for-5 with an RBI and run scored. 

Three Takeaways:

1. The Magnificent Seven: Seven different Dodger hitters posted multi-hit games on Saturday, the most this season. A.J. Ellis (0-for-4) was the only Dodgers' player to go without a hit.

Reddick is the seventh Dodger today with at least two hits. — Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) August 13, 2016 

2. Daily Double: The Dodgers had five doubles on Saturday and now have six players on the team with 20 doubles or more this season. Corey Seager (32), Justin Turner (26), Adrian Gonzalez (23), Joc Pederson (23) Howie Kendrick (21) and Chase Utley (20) round out the group. The most players with 20+ doubles in Los Angeles history was eight in 2002.

Franchise record is 8 players with 20 doubles (1934 in Brooklyn, 2002 in LA) https://t.co/1qtAfUuPEb https://t.co/sqm9Hg6NCB — Eric Stephen (@truebluela) August 13, 2016

3. Wild Thang: For the third consecutive start, Brandon McCarthy was all over the place with his fastball. The right-hander has struggled with location since undergoing Tommy John surgery and has now walked five or more batters in three consecutive starts. McCarthy is the first Dodger to accomplish this since Kaz Ishii in 2004.

Brandon McCarthy walks his 5th batter for the 3rd straight start. First to do that for the Dodgers since Kaz Ishii in 2004. — Ryan Walton (@RyanWaltonSBN) August 13, 2016

Up Next:

Pirates (58-56): Chad Kuhl who earned his first career victory against Clayton Kershaw earlier this year will start for Pittsburgh in the rubber match on Sunday.

Dodgers (65-51): Brett Anderson is set to make his 2016 season debut at 1:10 PM PST.