Slugfest! Kershaw Wins, Dodgers Bang 6 HRs, Beat Pirates 8-3
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw earned his first win in 2 ½ months, five Dodgers homered including Max Muncy with a pair, and Los Angeles beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3 on Tuesday night.
Ivan Nova (4-6) became the first pitcher in Pirates history to give up five homers in a game. Pittsburgh has been outscored 25-4 in the first two games of the series.
The Dodgers have 11 homers three days into July and 122 so far this season after slugging a major league-leading and franchise-record 55 in June.
Kershaw (2-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings of his third start since coming off the disabled list. The left-handed ace struck out two and didn't walk anyone to earn his first victory since April 15 at Arizona. He had two losses and four straight no-decisions since then.
Kershaw had not gone as late as July 3 with just one win since his rookie year in 2008. That year he didn't earn his second victory until Aug. 7.
Joc Pederson and Muncy homered back-to-back for the second straight game.
Pederson sent Nova's first pitch of the game over the right-field wall and Muncy followed with a shot to center field for a 2-0 lead.
Muncy led off the third with his team-high 20th homer for a 3-1 lead.
David Freese provided the lone bright spot for the Pirates, going 3 for 3 with a pair of RBI singles that twice cut the Dodgers' lead to one run, and a solo homer off reliever Yimi Garcia.
Chris Taylor kept the slugfest going in the fourth with a two-run shot that made it 5-2. He went 3 for 4 with a strikeout and finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle.
Yasmani Grandal led off the sixth with a homer and Taylor doubled to deep center field to chase Nova.
His replacement didn't fare any better. Enrique Hernandez blasted a two-run homer on the first pitch from Dovydas Neverauskas, extending the Dodgers' lead to 8-2.
Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp's run of eight hits in eight consecutive at-bats ended when he struck out to end the first. One night after tying a career high with five hits, including a three-run homer, Kemp was hitless in four at-bats with two other strikeouts.
The Dodgers' third straight win overall allowed them to clinch the season series against the Pirates for the second year in a row.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Joe Musgrove (right index finger infection) went on the DL retroactive to June 30. He was scheduled to start Wednesday's series finale.
Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler was moved to the DL retroactive to June 29. He began a rehab assignment for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
UP NEXT
The Pirates had not yet announced a replacement starter for Musgrove on Wednesday. Dodgers LHP Rich Hill (1-3, 4.68) took a no-hitter into extra innings in Pittsburgh last August before allowing a walk-off solo homer in the 10th.
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