Mat Latos Struggles, Offense Sputters Late In Loss To Pirates
After a tough loss on Friday night in Pittsburgh, the Los Angeles Dodgers sent Mat Latos to the mound to face Pirates left-hander Francisco Liriano in a matinee matchup.
Jimmy Rollins hit the first pitch of the game for a single, but was forced out at second on a comebacker by Howie Kendrick. Rollins was ruled safe, but the call was challenged and overturned. Adrian Gonzalez was then hit by a pitch and Scott Van Slyke put the Dodgers on the board with an RBI single to left. That would be all for the offense.
Latos allowed a leadoff walk to Gregory Polanco, but he was erased at second on an incredible stop and throw from Yasiel Puig in right field on a would-be single by Starling Marte. With Andrew McCutchen at the plate, Marte stole second and scored on a single. Aramis Ramirez ended the inning with a double play.
In the second, Latos singled with one out and took third on a two-out single up the middle by Kendrick. Gonzalez then drove his pitcher home with a single to left to make it 2-1. Van Slyke popped out to end the inning.
Consecutive singles started the bottom half of the second for the Pirates. A ground out got the first out, a fielder’s choice at the plate got the second out, but Liriano followed with a home run to left field that put his team ahead, 4-2.
Puig led off the next inning with a walk and Kiké Hernandez sent a pitch high over the wall in center field to tie the game at four. The offense was unable to get any more runs.
McCutchen led off the bottom of the third with a double and stole third. Jung Ho Kang grounded out to score McCutchen. Neil Walker then hit a home run to make it 6-4. Latos was able to get the third out without any more damage.
Joe Blanton replaced Liriano in the top of the fourth and worked around a single by Gonzalez for the first scoreless half inning of the game. Latos followed with a scoreless inning of his own to send the game to the fifth.
CONTINUE READING: Dodgers, Pirates Go Down To The Wire
