Paul Skenes fans nine as Pirates shut out Dodgers

Paul Skenes got the best of a pitching showdown with nine strikeouts over 6 1/3 scoreless innings and the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates opened a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 3-0 victory.

Oneil Cruz hit an RBI single and scored in a two-run fifth inning as the Pirates improved to 3-1 on a six-game road trip that started with a series victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Skenes (3-2) gave up five hits with no walks on a career-high 108 pitches as he outdueled Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who entered on an 18-inning scoreless streak.

Yamamoto (3-2) allowed three runs (one earned) in five hits over five innings with a season-high four walks and five strikeouts. Andy Pages hit a pair of doubles for Los Angeles, while Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-4 and is now 1-for-16 over his past four games.

The Dodgers lost for the fourth time in their past five games. They are 8-10 since opening with an 8-0 record that was the longest win streak to open a season by a defending champion.

The Pirates jumped on an erratic Yamamoto early. Cruz walked to open the game, stole second and scored on a two-out hit from Enmanuel Valdez. Yamamoto walked two batters in the first inning and another in the second.

The Dodgers had a prime scoring chance in the fourth inning after Freddie Freeman led off with a double and went to third on an error on the play, but he was left stranded when Skenes got Teoscar Hernandez to ground out before Tommy Edman struck out and Will Smith flied out.

Pittsburgh made it 3-0 in the fifth when Cruz hit a 117.6 mph RBI single to right and Ke'Bryan Hayes delivered a run-scoring single. Cruz was examined at first base for an injury to his right side but remained in the game.

Ryan Borucki and former Dodger Dennis Santana combined for 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for Pittsburgh before David Bednar pitched the ninth for his second save.

--Field Level Media