Dodgers vs Pirates Recap: 9-8 Thriller Ends Dodgers’ Win Streak

The Dodgers rolled into PNC Park looking to keep rolling after winning the night before. Pittsburgh had lost badly, 12-3, and needed to bounce back fast. But Los Angeles came ready to punch. In the fourth inning, Max Muncy ripped a double to right field off Jared Jones's 89-mile-per-hour slider. Freddie Freeman sprinted home and the Dodgers led 1-0. Kyle Tucker followed with a single up the middle, and Muncy scored to make it 2-0. The Pirates answered back immediately. Tyler Callihan crushed a solo home run off Shohei Ohtani, and just like that, Pittsburgh was on the board. It was 2-1 after four innings, and you could feel the Pirates fighting back into this game.

The sixth inning exploded with power. Ryan Ward stood in against Carmen Mlodzinski and launched a massive blast to right field—427 feet into the night sky. Pages and Freeman scored ahead of him. Muncy came racing around too. Suddenly it was 6-1 Dodgers and the game felt done. But Pittsburgh would not quit. In the seventh, Brandon Lowe doubled to right field off Ohtani, scoring both Jake Mangum and Tyler Callihan to make it 6-3. Then Bryan Reynolds reached on an error, and Lowe scored. The Pirates were breathing down Los Angeles's neck now. Every inning felt dangerous. The momentum had completely shifted, and Pittsburgh smelled blood.

The eighth inning brought fireworks. Kyle Hurt took the mound for Los Angeles and immediately got in trouble. Tyler Callihan stepped up and rocketed another home run to right field—this time 394 feet with two runners on. Pirates 7, Dodgers 6. The place went wild. Then Jack Dreyer came in and Spencer Horwitz crushed a 402-foot bomb to right-center. Horwitz's blast put Triolo ahead and Pittsburgh led 9-6. In the ninth, Ohtani launched one last desperate home run to center field—412 feet—and Miguel Rojas scored with him. Final score: Pirates 9, Dodgers 8. Pittsburgh improved to 34-33. Los Angeles fell to 43-25 and had to accept the gut-wrenching loss on the road.