PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES:..opened their seven-game road trip with a 5-2 loss last night at Dodger Stadium…Went 4-2 on their six-game homestand against the Padres (3-0)
and Brewers (1-2)…Have had five separate winning streaks of at least four games this season, including a season-high seven-game winning streak from 4/17-23…
Are 5-5 in their last 10 games following their season-high 10-game losing streak from 6/13-22.
ABOUT TONIGHT’S STARTER: Luis Ortiz gets the start tonight in game two of this four-game series at Dodger Stadium… Ortiz allowed four runs in 4.2 innings but had a no-decision in his last start in Pittsburgh’s 5-4 win against the Padres Thursday at PNC Park.
AND THE WHIFF: Mitch Keller struck out seven batters last night and now has 125 this season, which ranks second in the National League…Pittsburgh’s starting rotation comes into today with 421 punchouts, which are the fifth-most among all National League teams behind the Marlins (474), Braves (462), Padres (440) and Phillies (434)…Last year the Pirates finished tied for 25th in all of MLB with 655 strikeouts from the starting rotation.
INDEPENDENCE DAY: The Pirates were off on the Fourth of July last year and are playing on the road on Independence Day for the first time since 2018, which was here at Dodger Stadium…Rich Hill started for the Dodgers in that game while winning a 6-4 decision against Pirates starter Clay Holmes.
CARLOS SANTANA’S HITS: Carlos Santana doubled in his first at-bat last night, which was his 21st of the season (he had 18 all of last year in a combined 131 games between Kansas City and Seattle)…Seventeen of Santana’s 18 doubles have come as a first baseman, which are the fourth-most at that position in the National League behind Freddie Freeman (28), Christian Walker (24) and Paul Goldschmidt (19).
DE LOS SANTOS DEALING: Yerry De Los Santos retired six of the seven batters he faced while tossing 2.0 innings for the fourth time in his career Monday night…Since being promoted from Indianapolis on June 15, De Los Santos has allowed just four hits in 31 at-bats (.129 batting average against) while giving up one run in 9.1 innings of work.
JACK IN THE BOX: Jack Suwinski was hit by a pitch twice Monday night and is now 6-for-14 with a double, home run, six RBI, three walks and a .579 OBP in his last five games…Suwinski is tied for the fourth-most walks (42), ranks eighth in OBP (.362), seventh in slugging (.505) and fifth in OPS (.866) among all National league outfielders.
FEELING THE DRAFT: Since making his big league debut on June 19, 2021 No. 1 overall pick has the second-most hits (15) among all National League rookies…The only NL rookie with more hits in that time is Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz (16)…Nick Gonzales, who was selected seventh overall in the 2020 draft, went hitless in each of his first three games after making his MLB debut on June 23…Since then, Gonzales is 8-for-23 with a double, triple, two home runs and seven RBI…Jared Triolo, selected by the Pirates in the Competitive Balance round in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, has hit safely in four of his first big league games.
SELECT COMPANY: Andrew McCutchen is just three home runs away from 300 in his career (his 297 are the 11th-most among active players)…McCutchen ranks fourth all-time in Pirates history with 213 home runs, trailing only Willie Stargell (475), Ralph Kiner (301) and Roberto Clemente (240).
ON THE MEND: First baseman/designated hitter Ji Man Choi went 2-for-4 in his fourth game on rehab Monday with Triple-A Indianapolis… Choi, who is currently on the 60-day injured list with a left Achilles tendon strain, is now a combined 8-for-23 with a double, triple, two home runs and seven RBI in seven games on rehab with Altoona and Indianapolis…Wil Crowe started and tossed 1.0 scoreless inning in his first rehab appearance on Sunday with Single-A Bradenton (he threw a total of eight pitches)…Crowe is currently on the 60-day injured list with right shoulder discomfort.
STARTING PITCHER – 48 – RHP LUIS ORTIZ
LUIS ORTIZ: The 24-year-old righthander will be making his 11th appearance (10th start) of the season tonight…He had a no-decision (4.2ip/4r) in his last start; a 5-4 comeback win Thursday against the Padres…He earned his first big league win in his start on 5/22 vs. Texas after allowing two runs in 7.2 innings of work.
vs. LOS ANGELES (NL): Has never faced the Dodgers.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:
RED, WHITE AND THE BOYS IN BLUE: The Dodgers got back to their winning ways last night, downing the Pirates, 5-2, in the first game of a four-game series and six-game homestand (1-0) that will conclude the first half of the season. The Dodgers are now 19-9 (.679) in the first game of a series this season and improved to 25- 5 (.625) at Dodger Stadium. Following the long series with Pittsburgh, the Angels come to town for two games (July 7-8) as the All-Star break begins on Sunday, July 9. The Dodgers are in second place in the National League West, 2.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondback. Los Angeles dropped a series to Pittsburgh in April, losing two of three at PNC Park and with last night’s win are now 3-7 in their last 10 games against the Pirates since the start of 2022. The Dodgers are 195-122 (.615) vs. the Pirates all time at Dodger Stadium.
MAN OVERBOARD: The Dodgers started off the homestand on a high note, downing Pittsburgh, 5-2, as the Dodger relievers allowed just one run on two hits in 5.0 innings to secure the victory. Michael Grove got the start after Clayton Kershaw was placed on the injured list and gave up one run in 4.0 innings before yielding to the ‘pen. At the plate, Max Muncy got the Dodgers started with his 19th homer of the season, a solo shot in the second inning. From there, David Peralta shined once again, going 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and RBI while Miguel Rojas added two hits and an RBI double. Peralta is hitting .433 (13-for-30) during his nine-game hitting streak after slashing .365/.406/.556 in the month of June. Caleb Ferguson (8.0 IP, 8 G) and Evan Phillips (10.1 IP, 10 G) are each working on multi-game scoreless streaks. Phillips recorded his 12th save in 13 chances last night.
ENJOYING THEIR INDEPENDENCE: In their 130-plus year history, the Dodgers have played 181 games on July 4 and have posted a 96-83-2 record in those games, including a 35-28 mark since moving to Los Angeles in 1958. The tradition of playing a double header on Independence Day was a regular one until 1960, when L.A. started playing just one game on the Fourth of July. During one particularly strong run, the Dodgers posted a 17-4 record on July 4 from 1945-1956. Los Angeles has won eight consecutive games on Independence Day going back to 2014.
SUPPLYING THE FIREWORKS: Dodger All-Star starter Mookie Betts went 0-for-3 with a walk last night, snapping his five-game hitting streak. In his last 30 games since May 30, Betts is slashing .310/.400/.647/1.047 with 11 home runs and 25 runs scored. His 11 home runs in that time are tied with Matt Olson for the most in the National League. On Sunday, Betts reached 20 doubles in a season for the eighth time in his career, with the only exceptions being his rookie season (52 games) and the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign (55 games). The outfielder is among the National League leaders in homers (22, T-3rd), RBI (56, T-4th), OBP (.371, 14th), SLG (.550, 5th), OPS (.920, 6th), walks (50, 6th), extra base hits (43, T-3rd), total bases (172, 4th) and runs (64, 4th).
STEADY FREDDIE: Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman went 1-for-4 with a run scored last night and he is third in the Majors league in runs scored (66), behind Marcus Semien (67) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (77). Freeman leads the Major Leagues with 28 doubles, is tied for fifth with 43 extra-base hits, sixth in batting average (.314) and sixth in total bases (177). On June 25, he became just the 98th player in Major League Baseball history to record 2,000 hits with 300+ homers.
PROVIDING THE POP: The Dodger offense continues to be at the top of the National League in various categories, as they rank second in walks (345), runs per game (5.42), extra-base hits (297), home runs (131), slugging percentage (.444) and OPS (.772).
GETTING DRAFTY: Major League Baseball will hold its annual amateur draft in Seattle from Sunday, July 9 through Tuesday, July 11. The Dodgers will make two selections on Sunday as they hold the 36th and 60th picks overall. The first round of the draft will be televised on both ESPN and MLB Network with the remaining rounds shown on MLB Network.
TONIGHT’S STARTER vs. PIRATES: RHP EMMET SHEEHAN (2-0, 2.65 ERA in 3 GS)
2023 SEASON NOTES:
- New York native notched his second big league win on June 29th against the Rockies, tossing five innings and giving up seven hits and three runs while striking out five
- Became the first starting pitcher since at least 1967 to fire 8.0 consecutive hitless innings to begin his Major League career according to Elias ( Billy Rohr; April 14, 1967)
- Made his Major League debut versus the Giants on June 16, spinning six no-hit innings, only giving up two walks while striking out three in the no decision… joins Ross Stripling as the only Dodger pitchers to pitch at least six no-hit innings in their MLB debut (April 8, 2016)
- Owns a 4-1 record across 12 games (10 starts) with Double-A Tulsa with a 1.86 ERA (11 ER/53.1 IP) with 88 strikeouts and 23 walks…has limited the opposition to a .131/.246/.235 slashline
- He led the Texas League in ERA, strikeouts, batting average against (.131) and WHIP (0.88)
- Currently ranked as the Dodgers’ 13th ranked prospect
VS. PIRATES:
- Will face Pittsburgh for the first time in his career
