Pirates fall to Dodgers 6-3 in 8

Remember a few weeks ago when Mitch Keller gave up a home run to Ronald Acuna Jr. on the very first pitch he threw?

It wasn’t the first pitch, but the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts pounded Keller’s third pitch over the center field wall, the start of a very short outing for Keller and an eventual 6-3 Pirates loss at PNC Park this afternoon.

Rain delayed the first two games of this series and ended this one in the top of the eighth, with Betts having scored yet another run courtesy of a Justin Turner single.

It was another appearance for Bad Mitch, who only lasted two and two-thirds innings while giving up four earned runs on five hits and putting two guys on base courtesy of hit batters. Derek Shelton’s patience with Keller appears to be running short these days, as his habit is to leave his starters in for at least five innings no matter the score.

The Bucs were in it for a while, though. In the bottom of the second, Phillip Evans singled, then scored on an Erik Gonzalez double to tie things up. In Keller’s leper inning (because he fell apart), he plunked Justin Turner and Matt Beaty, the latter after he’d given up a single to Cody Bellinger. Turner came home on a sac fly by Zach McKinstry, then after a Gavin Lux forceout, Keller intentionally walked Austin Barnes to get to Dodgers starter Julio Urias. That ... was dumb, as Urias helped himself out by singling and scoring Bellinger and Lux, which ended Keller’s day.

The Pirates tried to close the gap in the bottom of the third. Adam Frazier doubling and Ke’Bryan Hayes reaching on a fielder’s choice, then Bryan Reynolds homered to left to make it 4-3 Dodgers. That was it for Bucs scoring. After Chris Stratton and Chasen Shreve pitched no-hit innings, Duane Underwood Jr. decided to get in on the sweet Letting the Dodgers Score action and gave up three straight singles that eventually brought Bellinger home again. Kyle Crick gave up the final Dodger run.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the much-vaunted YouTube broadcast had Pirates fans actually missing Joe Block and Michael McKenry due to the shameless Dodger homering displayed by the broadcast crew. Sadly, this included Sean Casey. For shame, Mayor. FOR SHAME!