Dodgers’ late meltdown results in Pirates’ unlikely victory

PITTSBURGH –– First, the Pirates robbed Shohei Ohtani of a sure-fire home run.

Then, they turned around and stole the whole game.

At the start of the seventh inning Wednesday night, the Dodgers had a five-run lead, Ohtani on the mound and a series-clinching win all but secured at PNC Park.

By the end of the eighth, the script had turned upside down on them, with the Pirates storming back for a 9-8 win.

The collapse began with Ohtani, who was unable to finish a start with a completed inning of work for the first time all year.

After six strong frames of one-run ball –– and a near two-run homer as a batter in the third that was brought back on a leaping effort from Pirates right fielder Bryan Reynolds –– Ohtani issued a leadoff walk to begin the seventh, then couldn’t get to a swinging bunt in front of the mound, putting two runners aboard with no outs in the inning.

The two-way star nearly pulled off an escape act from there, striking out his next two batters while nursing a 6-1 lead.

But then, in a 3-0 count to Brandon Lowe, Ohtani fired a fastball that was ambushed for a two-run double down the line.

That ended Ohtani’s night, pushing his ERA over 1.00 for the first time all season (albeit, his 1.06 mark is still best in the majors among pitchers with 60 innings).

But it would only be the beginning of the Dodgers’ meltdown, as their once-stout bullpen suffered an increasingly familiar late-game implosion.

Lowe came around to score against Alex Vesia, after a hard-hit ground ball got past Max Muncy at third base.

In the eighth, Kyle Hurt then became the night’s biggest culprit, walking his first two batters before giving up a three-run, go-ahead blast to Pirates youngster Tyler Callihan.

The homer marked the second long ball of the night for Callihan, who had recorded his first career big-league blast off Ohtani in the fourth inning. It would also be the first of two balls to leave the yard in the eighth, with Spencer Horwitz making it a five-run rally with a two-run shot off Jack Dreyer later in the frame.

Who’s hot

It was not Ohtani’s best night, but he was still the Dodgers’ best player.

Technically, he still turned in a quality start of 6 ⅔ innings and three earned runs (his fourth run was unearned, as it came on Muncy’s error).

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And in the top of the ninth, he hit a two-run homer to get the Dodgers back within one.

Alas, it wouldn’t be enough, with the Pirates forcing a rubber match in this three-game series on Thursday.

Who’s not

The Dodgers are still 19-7 in their last 26 games overall, but have now suffered multiple bullpen meltdowns in the last couple weeks.

There were the two losses charged to Tanner Scott against the Phillies and Dbacks. There was Sunday’s all-around blunder against the Angels. And after Wednesday, the concern level is starting to rise with the Dodgers’ relief corps –– a unit that only last month set a franchise record with a 38-inning scoreless streak.

Up next

The Dodgers wrap up this three-game series in Pittsburgh on Thursday, when Justin Wrobleski (7-2, 2.62 ERA) faces Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller (5-3, 4.81 ERA).