Final
Dodgers-Pirates Preview
Apr 8, 2010 - 4:40 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior WriterLos Angeles (0-1) at Pittsburgh (1-0), 12:35 p.m. EDT
The Los Angeles Dodgers' prolonged inability to win in Pittsburgh has the Pirates on the verge of sweeping them for the first time since 2000.
Coming off an extra-inning victory, the Pirates try to conclude an opening series sweep of the visiting Dodgers on Thursday.
Two days after beating the two-time defending NL West champions 11-5, Ronny Cedeno delivered a bases-loaded single in the 10th to give Pittsburgh a 4-3 win over Los Angeles on Wednesday.
The Pirates have won four straight at home against the Dodgers, and look to sweep a series from Los Angeles for the first time since Sept. 4-6, 2000. They haven't swept the Dodgers at home since May 31-June 2, 1999.
Pittsburgh, which has lost at least 94 games each of the last five seasons, is trying to sweep its opening series for the second time in four years.
"We got to keep it going, have the same attitude and prepare everyday," said Cedeno, who's 4 for 9 with two RBIs in two games.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, will try to avoid being swept in its opening series for the first time since 2002.
Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen had three hits and budding star Garrett Jones hit a three-run homer after going deep twice in the opener. Jones has four home runs with eight RBIs in his last three games versus Los Angeles.
Jones' first-inning homer off Clayton Kershaw helped the Pirates get off to a strong start in their latest contest. They'll try for similar success against Los Angeles' scheduled starter Chad Billingsley in this contest.
The right-hander looks to bounce back from a inconsistent 2009 season where he went 9-3 with a 2.72 ERA over his first 14 starts and made the NL All-Star team, but struggled down the stretch to finish 12-11 with a 4.03 ERA. Despite his early season success, Billingsley was dropped from the Dodgers' rotation in the postseason.
After some mechanical adjustments, the Dodgers hope Billingsley can return to his All-Star form.
"His delivery line is better, he's standing a little taller," pitching coach Rick Honeycutt told the Dodgers' official Web site.
Billingsley is 1-0 with a 7.45 ERA in two starts against the Pirates. He was roughed up in his last appearance at Pittsburgh, allowing seven runs in 4 2-3 innings of a 15-8 loss Sept. 17.
The Pirates counter with Paul Maholm, who's 0-3 with a 5.59 ERA in six starts against Los Angeles.
The left-hander hopes to improve from last season when he was bothered by knee discomfort and finished 8-9 with a 4.44 ERA in 31 starts.
"I'm looking forward to getting my start in and seeing where I'm at," Maholm told the Pirates' official Web site.
Los Angeles managed five hits Wednesday, but drew nine walks only to strand 12 runners in a game that featured 25 men left on base.
"We had plenty of opportunities, we just couldn't get it done," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.
Recovering from a pulled groin he suffered in early March, Russell Martin homered Wednesday for Los Angeles. He's a lifetime .350 hitter in 12 games at Pittsburgh.
The Dodgers were 24-7 at PNC Park until losing five of six there.
- Pirates 2, Dodgers 10 - FINAL
LA DODGERS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Furcal ss 5 2 2 0 0 1 2 .250
R Johnson lf 4 2 3 0 0 1 0 .750
M Kemp cf 4 2 2 2 0 2 2 .357
J Loney 1b 5 2 3 2 0 0 1 .214
R Belliard 3b 5 2 3 4 0 0 2 .429
G Anderson rf 3 0 1 2 1 0 0 .400
J Carr
Apr 8 3:45 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY GARRET ANDERSON SCORED JAMES LONEY
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, R BELLIARD ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 10
PITTSBURGH 2 TOP,9TH
DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: J CARROLL (.200, 0-FOR-4)
Dodgers 10, Pirates 2 Top 9, 0 OutsApr 8 3:35 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY RONNIE BELLIARD SCORED MATT KEMP
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R BELLIARD ON SECOND, J LONEY ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 9
PITTSBURGH 2 TOP,9TH
DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: G ANDERSON (.400, 1-FOR-3, BB, RBI)
Dodgers 9, Pirates 2 Top 9, 0 OutsApr 8 3:34 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY DELWYN YOUNG SCORED RYAN CHURCH
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, D YOUNG ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 8
PITTSBURGH 2 BOTTOM,8TH
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: A LAROCHE (.125, 1-FOR-3)
Dodgers 8, Pirates 2 Bot 8, 0 OutsApr 8 3:19 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY GARRET ANDERSON SCORED RONNIE BELLIARD
SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, G ANDERSON ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 8
PITTSBURGH 1 TOP,7TH
DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: J CARROLL (.250, 0-FOR-3)
Dodgers 8, Pirates 1 Top 7, 0 OutsApr 8 2:54 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
TRIPLE BY RONNIE BELLIARD SCORED JAMES LONEY
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, R BELLIARD ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 7
PITTSBURGH 1 TOP,7TH
DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: G ANDERSON (.250, 0-FOR-2, BB)
Dodgers 7, Pirates 1 Top 7, 0 OutsApr 8 2:53 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY JAMES LONEY SCORED MATT KEMP
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J LONEY ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 6
PITTSBURGH 1 TOP,7TH
DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: R BELLIARD (.200, 1-FOR-3, HR, 2 RBI)
Dodgers 6, Pirates 1 Top 7, 0 OutsApr 8 2:48 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY MATT KEMP SCORED RAFAEL FURCAL
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M KEMP ON SECOND, R JOHNSON ON THIRD, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 5
PITTSBURGH 1 TOP,7TH
DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: J LONEY (.083, 1-FOR-3, RBI)
Dodgers 5, Pirates 1 Top 7, 0 OutsApr 8 2:47 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY JEFF CLEMENT SCORED DELWYN YOUNG
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, A LAROCHE ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 4
PITTSBURGH 1 BOTTOM,6TH
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: B CROSBY (.667, 2-FOR-2)
Dodgers 4, Pirates 1 Bot 6, 0 OutsApr 8 2:33 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY RONNIE BELLIARD (1) TO CENTER WITH 2 OUT
IN THE 5TH OFF PAUL MAHOLM SCORED REED JOHNSON.
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 4, PITTSBURGH 0
DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: G ANDERSON (.333, 0-FOR-1, BB)
Dodgers 4, Pirates 0 Top 5, 0 OutsApr 8 2:03 PM - NL
AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY MATT KEMP SCORED RAFAEL FURCAL
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: LA DODGERS 2
PITTSBURGH 0 TOP,3RD
DUE UP FOR LA DODGERS: J LONEY (.100, 1-FOR-1, RBI)
Dodgers 2, Pirates 0 Top 3, 0 OutsApr 8 1:16 PM - NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA DODGERS 1 1 2 0
PITTSBURGH 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: LOS - CHAD BILLINGSLEY
PIT - PAUL MAHOLM
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: A IWAMURA (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
A MCCUTCHEN (.444, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
G JONES (.333, 3 HR, 6 RBI)
Dodgers 1, Pirates 0 Bot 1, 0 OutsApr 8 12:45 PM
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