Saturday, April 26, 2025
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025
On a cool Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Dodgers used a four-run eighth inning to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-to-4. Roki Sasaki needed one more out to have a quality start. Although Jack Dreyer allowed a run, the bullpen of Evan Phillips, Kirby Yates, and Tanner Scott was brilliant. Teoscar Hernández had a solo home run in the eighth, and Kiké Hernández blasted a three-run homer in the same inning.
Roki Sasaki was making his sixth major league start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He gave up a lead-off homer. Then, he retired the next three hitters.
Shohei Ohtani doubled to open the game. Ohtani went to third on Mookie Betts’ flyball. Ohtani scored on Teoscar Hernández’s double. Hernández scored on a throwing error, and Tommy Edman went to second.
Sasaki allowed a walk and a single. While Betts tried to turn a double play, the Dodgers didn’t turn it. Teoscar Hernández made a double play.
With an out in the second, Max Muncy walked and went to third on Andy Pages’ double. The Dodgers didn’t capitalize on a scoring opportunity.
With two outs in the third, Sasaki walked a batter but didn’t allow anything else.
In the third, the Dodgers didn’t do anything offensively.
Sasaki was perfect in the fourth.
The Dodgers didn’t do anything offensively in the fourth.
Sasaki gave up a single and a double to start the fifth. Then, he allowed a run-scoring single. Pages leapt and stole a home run from the Pirates. He allowed a wild pitch, moving the runner to second. Sasaki escaped from the jam scorelessly.
With an out in the fifth, Ohtani tripled and scored the tying run on Freddie Freeman’s single.
With two outs in the sixth, Sasaki plunked a batter, and Dave Roberts relieved him with Jack Dreyer. Dreyer struck out the last batter of the inning.
In the sixth, the Dodgers didn’t do anything offensively.
An infield single started the seventh inning against Dreyer. Dreyer allowed a single, moving the runner to second. He issued a walk to load the bases with no outs. On a ground ball, the Pirates took the lead. Roberts lifted Dreyer for Evan Phillips. Phillips allowed a stolen base but got out of the jam scorelessly thanks to a fabulous defensive play by Freeman.
Ex-Dodger Caleb Ferguson, who was pitching for the Pirates, allowed a one-out single to Pages, who scored on Ohtani’s double. Ohtani stole third. Betts walked. Freddie Freeman ended the seventh with a double play.
Kirby Yates allowed a double with one out in the eighth and issued a two-out walk. He escaped from the jam scorelessly.
Teoscar Hernández blasted a go-ahead homer to begin the eighth. Tommy Edman doubled, and Will Smith walked. Kiké Hernández blasted a three-run homer. Muncy walked. Pages singled. Freeman walked to load the bases. The Dodgers didn’t score any more runs.
Tanner Scott relieved Yates in the ninth and hurled a perfect inning to preserve the victory.
