Los Angeles Dodgers vs Pittsburgh Pirates

LOS ANGELES — Blake Snell delivered his sharpest start as a Dodger on Sunday, firing six scoreless innings of two-hit ball as Los Angeles blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 to complete a three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium.

Snell (2-1) struck out six, walked three and needed 94 pitches to work through six frames, scattering only a Brandon Lowe infield single and a Spencer Horwitz single. The left-hander retired 13 of the final 15 batters he faced after a mildly eventful first inning that saw Nick Gonzales hit by a pitch and steal second before Snell escaped with a strikeout of Rafael Flores.

The Dodgers scratched across a run in the first without a hit that left the infield. Shohei Ohtani drew a leadoff walk, stole second and moved to third on Freddie Freeman's single. Mookie Betts then grounded into a double play — shortstop to second to first — but Ohtani scored on the exchange to make it 1-0.

Los Angeles broke the game open in the fourth against reliever Carmen Mlodzinski. Tommy Edman walked, Kyle Tucker singled and Alek Thomas lined an RBI single to right — his first hit as a Dodger, snapping an 0-for-26 start to his tenure. Hunter Feduccia followed with another RBI single to score Tucker, making it 3-0.

An inning later, Freeman doubled and scored on a Max Muncy groundout to push the lead to 4-0.

The fourth-inning sequence against Mlodzinski was decisive. After Lake Bachar (1-3) was pulled after two innings, Mlodzinski entered and was tagged for three runs on five hits over three frames. Thomas's RBI single — his first knock in a Dodgers uniform after 26 hitless at-bats — flipped the game from a tight 1-0 pitchers' duel into a manageable three-run cushion for Snell.

• Blake Snell (LAD) — Player of the Match: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 94 pitches. His best outing since joining the Dodgers at the trade deadline.
• Alek Thomas (LAD) — 1-for-3, RBI single, first hit with Los Angeles after beginning his Dodgers tenure 0-for-26.
• Hunter Feduccia (LAD) — 1-for-3, RBI single, drove in an insurance run in the 4th.
• Khristian Curtis (PIT) — 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. The lone bright spot in the Pirates bullpen.

The Dodgers' 6 hits were more than enough against a Pirates lineup that managed only two hits all afternoon. Pittsburgh's 2 hits tied a season low, and their 10 strikeouts reflected Snell's dominance and sharp relief work from Edgardo Henriquez (1 IP, 2 K), Brock Stewart (1 IP, 1 K) and Alex Vesia (0.2 IP, 1 K). Los Angeles went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position while Pittsburgh went 0-for-4. The Pirates drew four walks but left seven men on base.

The Dodgers improved to 80-51, completing a perfect 3-0 homestand against Pittsburgh and winning their fourth straight overall. They remain firmly atop the NL West. The Pirates dropped to 63-69, losing their sixth consecutive game and falling further out of the NL wild-card picture. Los Angeles now heads on the road to face the Baltimore Orioles starting 25 August, while Pittsburgh returns home to host the Chicago Cubs on 25 August.

Snell's start was exactly what the Dodgers envisioned when they acquired him — efficient, overpowering, and deep enough to protect a thin bullpen. The offence did just enough early, and the pitching staff made a 4-0 lead feel like 10-0. Pittsburgh's bats, meanwhile, have gone quiet at the worst possible time.