NAHEIM, Calif.—Shohei Ohtani’s line drive left his bat at a sizzling 113 mph, but only a 19-degree launch angle. Hugging the ground like an airplane trying to fly below the radar, it streaked all the way over the center-field fence. “I don’t know if I’ve seen a ball hit like that, except a golf ball,…

LOS ANGELES—J.D. Martinez and David Peralta homered back-to-back in the fifth inning, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers rally from a four-run deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6–4 on Wednesday night, July 5. Martinez connected on an 0-2 pitch from reliever Roansy Contreras (3–7) for his 20th homer, a go-ahead, three-run shot to left-center that…

LOS ANGELES—Max Muncy not only hit his 19th homer of the season Monday night, he was the first to congratulate Dave Roberts for his 700th win as the Dodgers’ manager after Los Angeles’ 5–2 in over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Even if it took a couple minutes for Roberts to realize it. “Muncy and a couple…

PITTSBURGH—Mitch Keller struck out 10, matching his career high, in six innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6–2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, April 27, to win the three-game series. Keller (3–0) gave up two runs on five hits, getting out of a third-inning jam with runners on first and third…

PITTSBURGH—Chris Taylor hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the eighth inning to help the Los Angeles Dodgers overcome a five-run deficit and rally to an 8–7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night. Taylor took a sinker from Colin Holderman (0–1) deep to left for his fifth homer of the season. He singled…

PITTSBURGH—Move over, Babe. Prince Albert is the new No. 2 on a big baseball list. Albert Pujols hit his 703rd home run Monday night, breaking a tie with Babe Ruth for second place in career RBIs. The 42-year-old slugger connected for the St. Louis Cardinals off Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller, pulling a two-run shot…

Jack Suwinski’s third home run of the game Sunday came in walk-off fashion in the ninth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates avoided a series sweep with a 4–3 win over the visiting San Francisco Giants. After the Giants tied the game in the top of the ninth with Thairo Estrada’s solo homer, Suwinski led off…

The Pittsburgh Pirates (20–27) made a wild comeback victory in the ninth inning, having blown a four-run lead, to win 6–5 against the league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers (33–15) on Memorial Day. In May, the Pirates have defeated the Dodgers in three out of four games. However, the Dodgers have climbed to tie the Yankees with…

Former Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder and manager Bill Virdon died Tuesday at age 90. The Pirates confirmed his passing. “We are also eternally grateful for everything that Bill did representing the Pirates following his playing days not only as a successful manager, but also in helping a countless number of our young players that he…