Ethier’s homers send Bucs to defeat

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

Andre Ethier has that locked-in feeling at the plate again, and facing the Pittsburgh Pirates’ beleaguered pitching staff for four days only emphasized the point.

Ethier homered twice and drove in four runs, Blake DeWitt had his first four-hit game in the majors and James Loney added a pair of run-scoring hits to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers past Pittsburgh 9-3 on Sunday.

It’s the third time in Ethier’s career that he’s homered in three consecutive games.

“Ethier’s tough to pitch to. He’ll hurt you high and he’ll hurt you low,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “Right now he’s pretty much sitting back and very relaxed.”

Ethier, who led the club in home runs last year and set a Dodger Stadium record for left-handed batters with 22, was 8 for 16 with four homers and nine RBIs during the four-game series.

“If you saw every ball he hit, it was elevated,” losing pitcher Jeff Karstens said. “But it seemed like every ball he hit this series was up and in, so it played to his strengths. The one time I did get him out was on a changeup away.”

Hiroki Kuroda (3-1) allowed a run and five hits over eight innings, struck out three and walked one.

“He was just really staying aggressive, getting first-pitch strikes and throwing his off-speed stuff early in the count,” catcher Russell Martin said. “He was just making quality pitch after quality pitch, inducing contact and using just enough movement to keep the ball off the barrel.”

The two-time defending NL West champs have won three straight for the first time this season, following a five-game skid that included a 2-0 loss to the Pirates on Thursday.

“Our offense did a great job today, but I think the bigger story today was Kuroda going out there and really competing with some good stuff,” Ethier said. “When he does that, and is healthy and pitching the way he’s capable of, I think he’s one of the tougher pitchers in our division.”

Karstens (0-1) gave up six runs and 11 hits over five innings in his second start of the season after being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis.