Wednesday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers Noah Fant Jersey , and volunteers might be hard to come by.
The Dodgers’ offense is coming off a productive June when they hit 55 home runs, most in a calendar month in franchise history. And at the start of July, they look even better.
First the Dodgers crushed the Pirates on Monday to the tune of 17 runs and 21 hits. On Tuesday it was six home runs, including back-to-back homers from Joc Pederson and Max Muncy to lead off the game. Muncy went deep twice and has 20 on the season.
So with scheduled starter Joe Musgrove headed to the disabled list with a finger infection, the Pirates must send somebody else to the wolves.
Right-hander Clay Holmes (0-0, 2.25 ERA) is expected to make his first start of the season for Pittsburgh on Wednesday. He has pitched in two games for the Pirates this season, and he threw two hitless, scoreless innings in his most recent appearance June 24 against Arizona. He has never faced the Dodgers.
The Dodgers’ Rich Hill (1-3, 4.68) will make his fourth start since coming off the disabled list because of a blister on the middle finger of his left hand.
On Friday, Hill faced the Colorado Rockies and gave up one run on six hits over 6 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. He threw 110 pitches in that game, validating the series of laser treatments he received while out of action.
“I was really pleased with the consistency of the flight of the ball,” Hill said after his last outing, according to the Los Angeles Times. “The way the curveball came out of my hand, the consistency of that. Everything really came together tonight.”
Hill is 3-2 lifetime against the Pirates with a 3.25 ERA over nine starts, although he is a far different pitcher than the first time he squared off against them in 2006.
Holmes faces a major challenge against the Dodgers’ potent offense. When Matt Kemp went 5-for-5 with a homer on Monday http://www.broncosauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dalton-risner-jersey , it gave him a hit in eight consecutive at-bats.
Also homering for the Dodgers on Tuesday were Yasmani Grandal, Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor.
The Dodgers’ run-scoring onslaught has left the Pirates reeling. Not only did the Pirates’ bullpen absorb five innings Monday, it was called on for three more innings Tuesday. Tuesday’s starter, Ivan Nova, allowed seven runs on nine hits in his five-plus innings.
“We’ve been a little short on the front end of things, which has provided some complications on the bullpen,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said, according to mlb.com.
The Dodgers will see their 10-game homestand come to an end Wednesday, but their Southern California stay is just beginning. Next up is a “road trip” to Anaheim and San Diego, before three more home games to close out the first half.
The Pirates are 2-3 on their six-game tour of Southern California, having faced the San Diego Padres before arriving in Los Angeles. They are 4-4 on their nine-game road trip, which also included a stop in New York to face the Mets.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals will try to build off an historic win when they host the Miami Marlins on Friday night.
Washington fell behind Miami 9-0 in the top of the fourth inning Thursday night but rallied for an improbable 14-12 victory, snapping a five-game losing streak one night after a players-only meeting.
The win marked the largest comeback in Nationals’ history (2005-present) and tied the Montreal/Washington franchise mark.
“This is what this team’s capable of,” Matt Adams, who went 4-for-5 in his return from a fractured index finger Drew Lock Jersey , told MASN.com. “Tonight, we never gave up. We got down big, and we just started chipping away. Put together some good ABs, pitchers started getting outs, and things just kind of fell in sync for us.”
Shortstop Trea Turner hit a grand slam, a solo homer, and finished with eight RBIs while raising his average to .280. He tied the MLB record for RBIs as a a leadoff hitter as the Nationals improved to 43-43 with their 12th straight defeat of the Marlins.
“Trea had an unbelievable day, so good for him,” manager Davey Martinez told MASN.com. “I’ve said this before, but for me, he’s an All-Star.”
The Marlins (36-53) got home runs from Brian Anderson, Justin Bour and Martin Prado, who was activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, as they matched a record of their own — the largest blown lead in team history — after jumping on Nationals starter Jeremy Hellickson.
“We didn’t help ourselves,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly told the Miami Herald. “We played good defense. We didn’t make an error all night http://www.broncosauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dre_mont-jones-jersey , but you can’t walk eight guys with that club over there. We let them back in the game and we couldn’t stop the momentum.”
Anderson’s three-run homer pulled Miami within 14-12 in the eighth inning.
Rookie Pablo Lopez got a no-decision despite receiving nine runs of run support in his second career start. He tossed five innings and allowed five earned runs on five hits while striking out three and walking two.
“I didn’t have my best secondary stuff and they just started putting good swings on my fastball,” Lopez told the Herald. “Hitters make adjustments and I have to make mine trying to spin my breaking ball better and locate my changeup.”
Left-hander Gio Gonzalez (6-5, 3.77) tries to turn Thursday’s win into a mini streak for Washington on Friday night. The Nationals have lost his last four starts with Gonzalez allowing 16 runs in 16 innings, though one start was shortened by a rain delay. He is winless in his last six outings.
In his last start, Gonzalez cruised through four innings of a no-decision against the Phillies before coming apart in the fifth, allowing three runs to tie the game in a 40-pitch fifth inning that included three walks.
“He fell behind that inning, and that’s what happens,” Martinez told the Washington Post. “When he falls behind and walks guys, bad things happen.”
Gonzalez is 10-3 with a 1.85 ERA in 16 starts versus Miami.
Marlins right-hander Dan Straily (3-4, 4.70) has allowed three or more earned runs in each of his last five starts. In a loss to the Mets on Sunday, he gave up three runs on five hits over seven innings.
Straily is 0-1 with a 4.03 ERA in five starts against the Nationals.