The Dodgers (67-49) welcomed the Pirates (56-59) to Dodger Stadium with an offense of their own that backed Jack Flaherty’s home debut with a 9-5 win on Friday night. The Dodgers’ offense backed their new starting pitcher with nine runs, including three home runs against Mitch Keller, who was chased after four innings.
Perhaps hometown boy Flaherty had a few butterflies in his stomach before his debut at Dodger Stadium. Flaherty’s start was a mixed bag, with 10 strikeouts and two home runs.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa greeted Flaherty with a leadoff double. Once Flaherty settled, he struck out Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz in succession. With a little help from Miguel Rojas at shortstop, he managed to pitch for the leadoff double.
Sandy Koufax, who was present, praised Flaherty’s work.
Thanks to Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers were on the scoreboard with two outs in the first inning. Freeman hit a laser home run to right field against Keller. It also meant a little more since it was his first home run since his return.
Shohei Ohtani hit a baseball in the third inning to hit his 35th home run of the season. The ball flew majestically off the bat at 115 mph and 440 feet over the center field wall. During a steal attempt, Andy Pages was able to jog home after Ohtani’s hit instead.
Will Smith has really struggled at bat for the past two months, so it must have felt good when he smacked in a two-RBI base hit (67 mph off the bat). The assault on Keller continued. Miguel Rojas brought Smith home with a single to make it a five-run inning and a 6-0 game.
The Pirates got one of the runs back with a solo home run by Oneil Cruz in the fourth inning. Teoscar Hernandez scored a seventh run for the Dodgers with an RBI single.
The Bucs have some good young players who can hit. Joey Bart showed his power with a three-run hit against Flaherty in the fifth inning to make the score 7-4.
Kiké entered the game with a two-run home run against reliever Domingo Germán. It took him 11 pitches, but Kiké saw the ball bounce off Bryan Reynolds’ glove, off a television camera, and then back onto the field.
Anthony Banda and Evan Phillips threw scoreless innings, but Daniel Hudson allowed a run on an RBI single by Cruz with two outs in the ninth inning. Still, the nine runs were enough to win the first game of the series.
Details for Friday
Home runs: Freddie Freeman (17), Shohei Ohtani (35), Oneil Cruz (18), Joey Bart (10), Enrique Hernandez (7)
SS – Jack Flaherty (9-5): 5 2⁄3 IP, 4 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
LP – Mitch Keller (10-6): 4 IP, 7 hits, 7 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
Next
The Dodgers face a tough task on Saturday when they face Rookie of the Year favorite Paul Skenes (6-1, 1.99 ERA, 11.20 K/9).
River Ryan (1-0, 1.72 ERA, 15 2⁄3 IP) wants to continue his own success as a rookie when he takes the ball for the Dodgers.
First pitch is at 6:10 p.m. PST on SportsNet LA.
