Bucs’ offense unable to keep pace as they fall in finale, 8-7

The Dodgers closed out the series in Pittsburgh with a win behind an explosive offensive performance and a ‘whatever it takes’ approach from the bullpen.

The Dodgers relied on nine relievers after Dennis Santana was scratched shortly before game time.

In what was an opportunity to capitalize on adversity thrown at LA’s pitching staff, Pittsburgh’s offense simply couldn’t keep up. Pederson and Bellinger had huge days at the plate while leading Los Angeles to an 8-7 victory in the final game of the series.

Here’s how the scoring went:

Wasting no time, Joc Pederson led the game off with a home run into the right field bleachers.

The Pirates tied it up in the 3rd inning when Mercer singled and eventually scored on a Gregory Polanco sacrifice fly.

The Dodgers answered with a steady barrage of runs that lasted five innings which looked something like this:

• 4th inning: Bellinger double. Taylor single. Valera RBI single - 1 run
• 5th inning: Pederson double. Muncy single. Kemp RBI FC - 1 run
• 6th inning: Valera walk. Puig RBI double - 1 run
• 7th inning: Kemp single. Bellinger home run - 2 runs
• 8th inning: Forsythe walk. Pederson home run - 2 runs

In an attempt to keep pace, the Bucs pushed two runs across in the 6th inning on a Bell RBI double and a Diaz sacrifice fly. While still chasing five runs in the 8th inning, Diaz hit a three run home run to narrow the gap to two.

Things got interesting when Cervelli led off the 9th inning with a home run to bring the Pirates within one but that was ultimately it for Pittsburgh’s offense as the Bucs fell 8-7.

The Pirates are set to open up a series in Chicago, tomorrow at 2:20pm EDT.