Red Hot Dodgers Beat Pirates 3-2
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) -- The Los Angeles Dodgers scored three runs in the first inning and Chris Capuano notched his first victory with the Dodgers, as Los Angeles improved to 6-1 with a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.
Andre Ethier, who drove in the deciding run in each of the first two games of the series with a home run and RBI single, was hit in the back by the first pitch he saw from Jeff Karstens in the first inning after the Dodgers got a one-out single by Mark Ellis and a double by Kemp.
Juan Rivera drove in Ellis with a sacrifice fly, and the Dodgers made it 3-0 on RBI singles from James Loney and Juan Uribe. Loney's hit ended an 0-for-16 drought, his longest to start a season in his seven-year career.
"It was good to get him off that zero mark." Manager Don Mattingly said about Loney.
Capuano kept the Pirates bats quiet until the fifth inning when Michael McKenry hit his first homer of the season.
Capuano went 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts.
GALLERY - DODGERS SWEEP PIRATES
Despite throwing just two pitches in the game, Scott Elbert made a big impact, the southpaw came in with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and got Matt Hague to fly out to Matt Kemp, keeping the score at 3-2 Dodgers.
Matt Guerrier set the Pirates in order in the eighth inning and for the third consecutive night, Javy Guerra closed things out for his fifth save of the season.
The Dodgers' 6-1 start is their best since 1981, the year they won the World Series.
