'Sluggish' and not very sharp, Pirates start big road trip on wrong foot taken in Los Angeles (Pirates)

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Rodolfo Castro reacts after striking out Monday at Dodger Stadium.

LOS ANGELES -- It was a night where the unexpected became the norm for the Pirates.

Future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw was a late scratch and placed on the injured list. Spot starter Michael Grove did just fine in his place. Mitch Keller is heading to the All-Star game next week, due in large part to his consistency. He couldn't find his stride off the mound and was roughed up. Carlos Santana has been one of the game's best defensive first basemen. He allowed two runs to score because he couldn't make the play on balls hit right to him.

It all culminated in a 5-2 Pirates loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium Monday, kicking off a vital road trip just before the All-Star break on a shaky note. 

"We just didn't play very sharp throughout," Derek Shelton said. "Mitch wasn't sharp, we didn't play sharp defensively, we had a couple opportunities to score and only got one run in those opportunities. Just overall, didn't play a sharp game."

Now 39-45, the Pirates need to win out for the rest of this road trip if they want to go into the All-Star break with a .500 record. Finishing the first half of the year a little below .500 is hardly a death sentence, especially in a fairly weak National League Central, but a winning trip against the Dodgers and Diamondbacks this week would go a long way for reasserting themselves in the divisional discussion.

In an availability with reporters at PNC Park Saturday, Ben Cherington reiterated the preference would be to add to this team at the trade deadline, but that is contingent on the team still being competitive.

"Our hope is that we’re in a position to add to the team and make it stronger and it makes sense to do that," Cherington said. "That’s the outcome we’re shooting for."

Monday was a far from ideal way to start what should be an important trip in determining how active the Pirates are at making calls during the deadline versus how many calls they receive.

"We obviously want to play good everywhere we go and come out and win ballgames," Jack Suwinski said. "I believe we can do that, and we know we can do that."

Getting some consistent offense going against starters would go a long way towards that. The Pirates missed Kershaw, but Grove held his own. The Pirates couldn't elevate their hard contact, allowing him to go four innings of one-run ball because he got ground balls when he needed them.

Grove, a right-hander, offers a different spin and pitch profile than Kershaw, but the Pirates knew it was a possibility that they weren't going to get the southpaw.

"I still think there was enough time to figure that kind of stuff out," Suwinski said. "But I mean, at this point, just ready for things like that if they do come our way, just adjust and learn to adjust and figure out how we're gonna get ready for the game." 

Keller, on the other hand, looked very out of character in his return to Dodger Stadium, the place where he made his return to the rotation a year ago and kept the Dodgers at bay with his new sinker. He allowed five runs over his five frames by not doing what he did so well in that bounce back start a year ago: Using the bottom of the zone.

"Just didn’t have my best stuff, but I thought Hedgy [Austin Hedges] and I navigated as best as we could, made some pitches when I had to," Keller said. "Some singles fell in. Some bad luck here and there. Overall, just not as sharp as I’m used to."

Shelton opined that Keller didn't move down the mound the way he had been in recent starts and that his arm angle did not look consistent. Keller didn't dispute the assessment. 

"I just felt a little sluggish, just not as sharp and crisp," Keller said.

It was an off night for him. It was an off night for the usually reliable Santana, too. The veteran entered the night leading all first basemen with seven defensive runs saved but failed to convert a pair of balls Jason Heyward hit, resulting in a pair of two-out runs.

In the second inning, Heyward hit it on the ground while it was spinning, making it a difficult grab. In the fifth, Santana just dropped the ball to his right:

Those two runs gave the Dodgers' bullpen all the insurance they needed as they sailed through five innings without much resistance.

"This guy's been one of, if not the best defensive first basemen in the National League this year and just had one of those games," Shelton said.

In the grand scheme of 162 games, Monday was just one of those games for plenty of Pirates. They don't exactly have a lot of wiggle room to have many of those contests, however. Not if they want to get back into any playoff discussions in the second half.

Carlos Santana is thrown out at home in the second inning Monday.

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Carlos Santana is thrown out at home in the second inning Monday.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• 
Live file
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• Statistics
• Schedule
Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

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THE INJURIES

10-day injured list: 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes (back), 2B Ji Hwan Bae (ankle)

15-day injured list: LHP Jose Hernandez (calf), LHP Rob Zastryzny (forearm), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)

• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), 1B Ji-Man Choi (Achilles), RHP Wil Crowe (shoulder), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Josh Palacios, LF
2. Bryan Reynolds
, DH
3. Jack Suwinski
, CF
4. Carlos Santana
, 1B
5. Henry Davis
, RF
6. Nick Gonzales
, SS
7. Rodolfo Castro
, 2B
8. Jared Triolo
, 3B
9. Austin Hedges
, C

And for Dave Robert's Dodgers:

1. Mookie Betts, RF
2. Freddie Freeman
, 1B
3. Will Smith
, C
4. Max Muncy
, 3B
5. J.D. Martinez
, DH
6. David Peralta
, LF
7. Jason Heyward
, CF
8. Miguel Vargas
, 2B
9. Miguel Rojas
, SS

THE SCHEDULE

Luis Ortiz (2-3, 4.11) will take the bump Tuesday against Emmet Sheehan (2-0, 2.65). First pitch is set for 9:10 p.m. Eastern Time. I'll have you covered.

THE MULTIMEDIA

THE CONTENT

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