Los Angeles — Gavin Lux continued his resurgence with three RBIs, Teoscar Hernandez homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat standout rookie Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 on Saturday night.
Hernandez had three hits for the Dodgers, who have won five of their last seven games, losing only twice in a row to the National League’s best Philadelphia Phillies.
The Dodgers won despite rookie right-hander River Ryan suffering a strained right forearm after pitching 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
Skines (6-2) allowed a career-high four runs over six innings, allowing six hits, walking one and striking out eight.
The hard-throwing right-handed pitcher has allowed two or more runs in just three of his 15 starts, two of which came against the Dodgers. He earned the win on June 5 against Los Angeles, allowing three runs in five innings.
Ke’Bryan Hayes homered for the Pirates in the ninth, tying their season-high with six straight losses. It was Hayes’ fourth home run of the season.
Lux hit an RBI double to left-center field off Skenes in the first inning and hit a double off him in the third. After a slow start to the season, Lux has had a hit in 15 of 20 games since the All-Star break.
The Dodgers saw Ryan go out in the fifth inning against Michael A. Taylor, hunched over and tucked his right arm close to the pitch. Left-hander Alex Bethea took over and pitched a scoreless inning, while right-hander Michael Kopech (3-8) pitched 1 1/3 innings to earn the win.
The Dodgers went ahead 4-0 in the fifth when Hernandez homered to right-center field off Skines, his 26th of the season. Skines had allowed nine home runs, three of them in two starts against Los Angeles.
The Dodgers defense did its job, with center fielder Kevin Kiermaier crashing into the wall after stealing an extra base from Roddy Tellez in the fourth. Third baseman Enrique Hernandez leapt near the foul line to make a catch for a double from Joey Bart in the sixth.
Pirates right-hander Ben Heller got out of a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the seventh by striking out Hernandez, Freddie Freeman and Lux ​​in succession.
Trainer’s Room
Pirates: RHP Domingo Germán returned healthy in his Pirates debut Friday, throwing four innings, and is expected to continue serving as a reliever, with manager Derek Shelton saying he might be considered for a start in the near future. … RHP Jared Jones (lat) will get at least one more start at Triple-A Indianapolis before being considered for a return. … OF Andrew McCutchen missed the starting lineup for the second straight game, but was able to come off the bench.
Dodgers: Third baseman Max Muncy (groin), who hadn’t played since May 15, doubled and walked in his first rehab start against Triple-A Oklahoma City. … Outfielder Tommy Edman (wrist/ankle), acquired from the Cardinals at the trade deadline, made his first rehab start since joining the Dodgers, going hitless in three at-bats against Oklahoma City.
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Pirates: Left-hander Bailey Falter (5-7, 3.87 ERA) pitched two innings against the Padres on Tuesday before being replaced because of a prolonged rain delay.
Dodgers: Right-hander Tyler Glasnow (9-6, 3.54 ERA) will face the team that drafted him in the fifth round in 2011.
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