Field Level Media
Jun 7, 2018
Cody Bellinger homered for the third straight game and Joc Pederson belted two out Thursday as the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7.
Pederson's second homer produced an 8-3 lead, and the Dodgers held on for their fifth win in six games.
Elias Diaz hit a three-run homer and had four RBIs for the Pirates, who are 5-14 in their past 19.
The Dodgers were forced to go with a bullpen day when Dennis Santana, who was scheduled to make his first major league start, was scratched because of right lat soreness during his warmup.
Pedro Baez (3-3), the third of nine Los Angeles pitchers, allowed one run and two hits in two innings. Kenley Jansen gave up a homer but got a five-out save, his 15th.
Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon (3-5) allowed three runs and eight hits in five innings, with seven strikeouts and one walk.
Pederson led off the game with his fifth homer, to right.
Pittsburgh tied it 1-1 in the third when Jordy Mercer led off with a single and later scored on Gregory Polanco's sacrifice fly.
Bellinger hit a double off the wall in right-center with one out in the fourth and later scored on Breyvic Valera's bunt single, putting the Dodgers ahead for good, 2-1.
They made it 3-1 in the fifth when Matt Kemp's fielder's choice brought home Pederson, who led off with a double, and upped it to 4-1 in the sixth on pinch hitter Yasiel Puig's RBI double.
The Pirates closed to within 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth on Josh Bell's RBI double and Diaz's sacrifice fly.
After Kemp got aboard with a one-out single in the seventh, Bellinger hit his 11th homer, to left, to make it 6-3.
Pederson struck again in the eighth, a two-run homer to center for an 8-3 Dodgers lead.
Diaz's homer inside the foul pole in left made it 8-6 in the eighth.
Pinch hitter Francisco Cervelli's ninth-inning homer to left made it 8-7, but Jansen got the final two outs from there to nail down the save.
--Field Level Media