Ross Ohlendorf shines as Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 - MLB Update
Pittsburgh Pirates’ starter, Ross Ohlendorf had a tremendous day both with the bat and ball as he hit a solo homer and pitched seven strong innings with six strike-outs in the Pirates’ 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
on September 15.
Dodgers’ outclassed the pitchers during the first inning and got a 1-0 lead when Justin Sellers struck a ground rule double towards deep left-field and Dee Gordon posted the first run. In the second inning, Pirates’ batters smashed four runs quickly to take
a 4-1 lead. Ryan Doumit scored a tie run for the Pirates when Brandon Wood hit a single-run shot to left-field and Ryan Ludwick moved to third base.
Ohlendorf struck a three-run homer (371 feet) towards right-field while Ludwick and Wood both added two collective runs to give the Pirates a convincing lead. In the third and fourth inning, the batters were unsteady and failed to show their batting tricks.
Neil Walker doubled to right-field and Derrek Lee walked during the third inning but Ludwick ground out without adding any run.
At the bottom of fourth inning, James Loney and Jerry Sands both ground out while Juan Rivera struck-out without yielding any run. Dodgers added one run during fifth inning to cut their deficit 4-2. Russell Mitchell hit a one-run homer (396 feet) towards
left-centre to keep alive the Dodgers.
The pitchers pitched wonderfully in the sixth and seventh inning. Ohlendorf gave away only two runs, four hits, one home-run and two earned runs on his 72 pitches with an ERA of 6.82. Speaking to interpreters, he said, “It's been a while since I've pitched
like that. It's by far the best I've felt since I got hurt the first time. I feel like I'm finally getting back to what I'm capable of doing.”
Pirates’ manager Clint Hurdle commented on Ohlendorf and said, “His fastball and slider were very efficient and the ball was down in the zone. Ross hasn't had a lot to feel good about.”
Pirates raised their lead 6-2 in the eighth inning by adding two quick runs. Lee posted a single run when Doumit drove a double-run shot to deep right-field. The second or last run for the Pirates was taken by Doumit when Ludwick bunted a single-run drive
towards left-field.
However, Pirates led off the four-game series 1-0 after defeating the Dodgers comfortably.
Tags: