LOS ANGELES, CA — How often does a team face a pair of former Cy Young Award winners in back-to-back games?
For the Pirates, visiting Dodger Stadium over the weekend, Pittsburgh went up against the back-to-back American League Cy Young Tarik Skubal (2024-2025) Saturday, and on Sunday, a sultry 98-degree steamy afternoon, they had to face Blake Snell, winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2018 as a Ray and again in the NL as a Padre in 2023.
In his first season after signing a five-year/$180 million deal with LA (2025), Blake Snell helped the Dodgers to their ninth World Series Championship recording three wins and 3.18 ERA in six postseason games, including eight scoreless innings in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
The 33-year-old left-hander, a World Series champion (2025), began his Sunday outing by allowing an infield single in the first inning and another in the second inning.
And that was it.
Tossing 94 pitches total with 62 resulting in strikes (18/24 first pitch strikes), Snell left the game after six innings with an outstanding line of two hits, zero runs, three walks and six strikeouts. To add insult to the Buccos injury, the Dodgers (80-51) then went to flame-throwing RHP Edgardo Henriquez, Cumana, Venezuela, who served up 100-103-MPH gas to the now 63-69 Pirates.
It just wasn’t fair!
Sunday’s 4-0 loss to the Dodgers (80-51) and weekend in LA marked the fourth time the Pirates (63-69) have been swept in a series and the sixth time they’ve been shut out since the ASG break – Image Credit: Emma Sharon/Latino Sports
“We’re pitching well, our starting pitching has been fantastic,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts in Sunday’s postgame. “It’s good to see Blake (Snell) follow up Skubal’s outing (Saturday) and just getting us in the game, a chance to win and with the off day (last) Thursday, the off day tomorrow (Monday), the bullpen’s in a good spot. I thought Henriquez has really been throwing the baseball well. It was good to see the guys come in.”
As the Pirates went with a “Bullpen Game,” allowing LA to pick away over nine innings and win 4-0 to earn a sweep in this three-game weekend series—clutch hitting by the bottom of the Dodgers’ lineup with Kyle Tucker, Alek Thomas (who was brought up from Triple-A to replace Andy Pages, Havana, Cuba, who is out with a fractured left hand), and Hunter Feduccia (who is filling in for an injured Will Smith)—all had singles that netted two runs in the fourth.
Andy Pages is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks after X-rays revealed a fracture on the back of his left hand from a hit by pitch in the third inning of Friday’s series opener vs. the Pirates in LA – Image Credit: Francisco Rodriguez/Latino Sports
Speaking of singles, a total of eight hits were recorded combined between both teams with none resulting in extra bases. The Dodgers combined to leave six runners on though it didn’t matter since the Pirates left seven with a lot during Snell’s time on the mound.
Maybe it was just the Crushing Southern California heat.
On that, Roberts said: “I thought the ball was coming out well, velocity was up. So, yeah, all around, good outing and you know it was hot today, so it was just good to see Blake (Snell) get efficient.”
The Dodgers, riding a six-game winning streak as they head to the finish line to October and the postseason, now head east to face the NL East first-place Braves and then to Detroit for three games before returning home on September 1st for a nine-game home stand.
The big question mark? The absence of Pages in center field as well as at the plate.
Will the All-Star’s time on the injured list keep LA from overtaking the Brewers (81-49) for the best record in the National League and the top seed in the NL playoffs for home field advantage?
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