Snell Dominates, LAD Rolls Pittsburgh 4-0 Behind Timely Hitting
Blake Snell threw six innings of two-hit, zero-run ball with six strikeouts, and the Dodgers needed exactly four runs to make it stick. Los Angeles handled Pittsburgh 4-0 on Sunday, with the damage coming in quiet, efficient bursts rather than any single explosive moment.
The game's first run arrived in the most unglamorous way possible — a first-inning double play. Betts grounded into a 6-4-3, Ohtani scored, Freeman was erased at second, and just like that the Dodgers had blood on the board before Pittsburgh could blink. It was the kind of run that looks like a footnote until you realize the Pirates never answered it. Khristian Curtis kept LAD off the board for his three innings — 0 hits, 0 runs — but the moment Carmen Mlodzinski took over in the fourth, the game cracked open.
The fourth inning was where this one was decided. Alek Thomas singled to right, scoring Edman and sending Tucker to third — that single swung LAD's win probability from 75% to 84%, a nine-point lurch that effectively ended Pittsburgh's realistic path back into the game. Feduccia followed immediately with another single to right, Tucker scored, and suddenly it was 3-0 with Thomas standing on third. Mlodzinski finished his three innings having allowed 5 hits and 3 earned runs. The fifth inning added the finishing touch: Muncy grounded out to the pitcher, but Freeman crossed the plate anyway, pushing it to 4-0. That's three of four runs scored without an extra-base hit — just relentless contact and baserunning that Pittsburgh's pitching staff couldn't contain.
The story of the night was Snell's performance making all of it feel inevitable. Six innings, two hits, zero runs, six strikeouts — he gave Pittsburgh nothing to work with and handed his bullpen a comfortable lead to protect. Freddie Freeman went 2-for-4 and scored a run; Tucker went 1-for-3 and scored a run; Brandon Lowe's 1-for-3 was Pittsburgh's lone bright spot among the top performers listed. Lake Bachar closed out the final two innings for Pittsburgh and allowed 1 hit and 1 earned run while walking three batters — a rough finish to a rough night for a Pirates staff that appears to have no answer for a lineup this deep. When you need a groundout to score your fourth run, you're not grinding — you're cruising.