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Pirates routed at home by LA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Ronny Cedeno puts the tag on Los Angeles Dodgers' Rod Barajas, who attempted to stretch a fifth-inning single during a baseball game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, May 10, 2011.
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH
Aaron Miles saw a lot of green to his left and decided a slumping team needed a little jolt of electricity.
The Los Angeles Dodger second baseman provided it with a perfectly executed bunt, a small play that led to a much-needed big one as the Dodgers broke out of a lengthy hitting slump in a 10-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
“I took a chance,” Miles said. “It was a tight game and I gave it a shot. If you give me a chance like that, I’m going to take it every time.”
Miles’ bunt with two outs and a man on in the sixth extended the inning. Andre Ethier followed with a run-scoring single then Matt Kemp drilled the first pitch he saw from Pittsburgh ace Kevin Correia (5-3) into the center field seats for a three-run homer that took some of the sting out of a bitter loss on Monday night.
The Dodgers unraveled in that one following a controversial call in the eighth that ended with Kemp getting doubled off first when umpires ruled Juan Uribe’s sinking liner was caught by Pittsburgh left fielder Jose Tabata.
Uribe and manager Don Mattingly were ejected arguing the call and the Pirates went on to win 4-1.
This time, late in a tight game, the Dodgers didn’t leave it up to chance.
Kemp’s drive ignited a slumping offense as Los Angeles posted a season-high 15 hits.
“We kept grinding,” Mattingly said. “After last night, when things went wrong for us, to turn it around on the next night, it was really big for us.”
Ted Lilly (3-3) had little trouble over six innings and Los Angeles won for just the second time in seven games.
The left-hander has received a paltry 2.99 runs of support since the start of the 2010 season, the lowest in the majors. He made sure not to waste a rare offensive outburst by one of baseball’s lowest-scoring teams.
“We were pretty tough to stop tonight, and it’s really fun out there when our bats are going like that,” Lilly said. “The dugout is more fun, and everyone feels a little better about ourselves.”
Lilly limited Pittsburgh to two runs on four hits, striking out four.