The Los Angeles Dodgers made their way to Pittsburgh after dropping two of three in St. Louis, sending second year stud Hyun-Jin Ryu to the mound. Ryu picked up win number 11 in the 5-2 victory over the Pirates, throwing seven innings. Ryu gave up two earned runs on five hits, striking out five Pirate batters. Ryu ran into some trouble in the seventh inning but came out of it unfazed with an inning ending groundout. It was a two run fourth inning that left a mark on Ryu, but that was it. Brian Wilson and JP Howell kept the game in position for Kenley Jansen to come in and pick up his 29th save of the season. The relief innings for the Dodgers saw a combined one hit and one strikeout that led to two scoreless innings.

Dee Gordon showed why he was an All-Star with some impressive defensive stops and plays in the middle of the infield, as well as going 2-for-5 at the plate. Justin Turner filled in for Hanley Ramirez, going 2-for-5 with two RBI’s.   Ramirez was hit by a pitch on the hand for the third time this season and sat out. Yasiel Puig was hit by a pitch in the hand as well in St. Louis, and was out of the lineup tonight. The x-rays on both Ramirez and Puig came back negative. Matt Kemp made the start for the injured Puig, going 1-4 with an RBI double in the third for the 1-0 lead. A groundout from Andre Ethier moved Kemp to third and Adrian Gonzalez across the plate for the 2-0 lead. Los Angeles added three more in the fourth inning to take a 5-2 lead, and an eventual victory by the same score. Turner doubled to score Gordon and A.J. Ellis. Gonzalez followed with a soft line drive to center field to knock in Turner. Gonzalez smacked the ball around in all three plate appearances, going 3-3 with an RBI and a walk.  Juan Uribe finished the evening 2-5, and Carl Crawford added one hit.

The Dodgers take the opener in Pittsburgh against the Pirates, remaining tied with the Giants for the lead in the NL West. Josh Beckett will make his first start since spending some time on the DL with an injured hip. 

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