Bucs blank Dodgers for 3rd straight

May 1, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Pirates hand Dodgers fifth straight loss

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

Matt Kemp wanted to play a mistake-free game in the worst way, after getting criticized for his defense and base-running earlier this week by general manager Ned Colletti on the radio while the team was in New York.

Instead, the center fielder misplayed Ryan Doumit’s hit into a two-run triple, and that was all the help Brian Burres needed Thursday night to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0.

Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw (1-1) walked his first two batters of the game, and both scored when Doumit’s sinking liner got past Kemp with two outs as he tried to backhand it on the short hop.

“I just missed it. I should have caught the ball,” said Kemp, who won his first Gold Glove last season. “It was one of those in-between hops. You either try to catch it or back off of it and let one run score and keep that other runner at third base. I should have kept it in front of me. I can’t make any excuses.”

Burres (1-1) combined with two relievers on a four-hitter. He allowed four hits over 5 1-3 innings with four walks and three strikeouts.

The Pirates have won three straight following a seven-game skid.

“That’s the ups and downs of an early season,” reliever Jack Taschner said. “We were flat for a little bit there, but we’ve started to show some life. It helps when you put up a couple of runs early. It’s easier to keep things rolling than to kick-start it. So hopefully, we can keep this rolling.”

The game-time temperature was 66 degrees, but Northwest winds were blowing at 14 mph with gusts up to 24 mph toward right field resulted in a wind chill OF 41 degrees. When the teams met three weeks ago in Pittsburgh, the temperature was an un-April-like 80 degrees.