Dodgers slug way to sweep behind 6-run 6th

PITTSBURGH -- The Dodgers finished off a sweep of the Pirates on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park, using a three-run fifth and six-run sixth to jump out to an 11-7 victory.

They finished the three-game set scoring 28 runs, as they did it all against the Pirates: A handful of homers, a plethora of base hits and some clutch at-bats that set up rallies.

• Box score

The series-clinching win required it all, but a few key numbers paint the picture of how the Dodgers got it done.

5 (and 6)

With a single down the right-field line in the ninth inning Sunday, Justin Turner recorded a five-hit game for the first time in his 11-year career.

Including a walk in the seventh, he also recorded a new career high by reaching base six times, which is a bigger deal given his approach at the plate.

“You’re just trying to get on base every time,” Turner said. “Especially with our lineup and the guys hitting behind me, you get on first, you’re in scoring position for all of those guys.”

Turner got the day off Saturday to recover from some wear and tear sustained in a series with the Rays, where he fouled a ball of his left leg, then aggravated that same leg issue with a first-inning slide in Friday’s series opener at PNC Park. The decision to let him rest turned out to pay dividends.

“I felt he was recharged,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “His legs were under him today, and he just really had good at-bats. It was one of those things where [with Pirates starter Chris] Archer, some of the other guys we saw, just not trying to do too much, using the big part of the field, keep the line moving. Five hits, that’s a big day.”

4

Matt Beaty became the first Dodgers rookie to have a four-RBI game since Cody Bellinger did so against the Padres on May 5, 2017. Beaty kickstarted the three-run fifth inning with a two-run single off Archer, then he reached base on a fielding error in the game-winning sixth, on which Turner scored. Turner scored again on Beaty's single in the seventh.

“I think my RBIs today were just the guys in front of me getting on base, and then I was lucky enough to find a hole,” Beaty said. “The last RBI, [Turner] had an amazing read on that fly ball to left field, so hats off to [him] for that read.”

Roberts batted Beaty in the fifth spot in the order, a big task given that the rookie had just one RBI in his career entering the game, but the manager “thought he could handle it,” and he turned out to be correct.

“I like him in the batter’s box. I like him in the field,” Roberts said. “There was some unluckiness his first few games squaring it up, and today, he just found some holes.”

12

Despite the marks the two numbers above set, the biggest number for most of the guys in the Dodgers’ clubhouse was this one: A 12-pitch at-bat by Max Muncy, who went 0-for-5 in the box score, but drew a leadoff walk in the fifth inning.

The sequence proved critical, as it led to not just the three-run inning, but also the end of Archer’s day, as he threw 33 of his 105 pitches in that inning. With the Pirates headed into a road doubleheader Monday, they decided not to bring in a shutdown, late-inning reliever like Francisco Liriano, but opted for rookie Montana DuRapau, who surrendered all six runs (three earned) in the sixth.

“It was kind of just a snowball effect, I’d say. Just one thing after another,” Muncy said. “... It might have been a little bit of a gut blow to him, so it was a big at-bat.”

Worth noting

• Austin Barnes left the game in the sixth inning Sunday, and the Dodgers announced it was due to left groin soreness. After running to second on a Pederson single, the catcher was checked by medical staff and stayed in the game to run, but was replaced by Russell Martin in the bottom of the inning.

“Right now, it’s mild. We don’t know if it’s a little cramp or a mild strain,” Roberts said. “Once we get back home tomorrow, we’ll reassess and reevaluate and see where he’s at.”

• Kenta Maeda returned from the 10-day injured list to work five innings during his start Sunday, in which he allowed three runs with no walks to four strikeouts. Maeda landed on the IL with a left adductor contusion on May 17. Kyle Garlick was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move before Sunday’s game.