With the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman -- three former MVPs -- at the top of the Dodgers lineup, it can be a difficult challenge for any starting pitcher. Paul Skenes did so just one night ago and Mitch Keller turned in his best effort tonight at Dodgers Stadium in the Pirates' 8-4 loss.

The veteran right-hander threw six innings and scattered five hits while giving up three runs, two earned, and walking one. He also added six strikeouts.

"I felt really good, the game plan Joey (Bart) and I had going out there was great, it was just trying to fill it up as fast as possible, trying to throw as many strikes as possible and just kind of put the attack on them, I guess," Keller said. "It’s really one of the best lineups in baseball, maybe of all time. So, yea, it’s a tough ask and I thought we did a pretty good job today."

After a leadoff double by Ohtani in the bottom of the first inning, the Dodgers pushed their first run across on a Teoscar Hernández double. The right fielder later scored on an Adam Frazier throwing error to first that rolled into the Pirates' dugout and out of play. However, Keller settled in after that. 

He escaped a jam in the second inning after giving up a walk and a double to Max Muncy and Andy Pages, respectively. He stranded those two at second and third by striking out Ohtani with a changeup that caught the outer edge and then got Betts to pop-up to Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

"I thought his stuff was really good," Derek Shelton said after this one. "He used his fastball effectively. Overall, I thought he was really sharp."

After that, Keller set down the next seven batters he faced before Ohtani tripled in the bottom of the fifth inning. Freeman later drove him in with a single to right field to tie the game at three. Keller then set down the next four batters he faced before his night came to an end.

He threw six different pitches while leaning on his fastball and sweeper. He struck out Betts with the latter in that fifth inning to keep Ohtani at third. 

Keller's been good so far this season as he's produced a 3.97 ERA in six starts, but just hasn't received the run support. Oneil Cruz's leadoff home run was the first run the Pirates have scored with Keller in the game since Bryan Reynolds' home run against the Yankees on April 4.

• Cruz's leadoff home run on Roki Sasaki's first pitch of the night -- a fastball that was a few inches outside of the strike zone -- was his fourth leadoff home run in nine games. With that, he becomes the first Pirate since at least 1900 to hit four-plus leadoff home runs in a nine-game span, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He's also the first major leaguer to do it since Kyle Schwarber in 2021. To put it into a little more perspective, Andrew McCutchen hit just three leadoff home runs in all of 2024 while Frazier hit five in 2019.

• Cruz's eight home runs this season are the third-most by a Pirate in a single season during the first two months since at least 1901. Only Willie Stargell (11 in 1971) and Jeff King (nine in 1996) had more.

• Tommy Pham recorded his 1,000th career hit tonight with a double off Sasaki in the top of the fifth inning. It came on a night where he went 2-for-3 with a walk and scored two of the Pirates' four runs.

• Of the Pirates' eight hits tonight, six of them came from their 6-7-8-9 hitters. Pham and Ke'Bryan Hayes each recorded a two-hit night while Frazier and Isiah Kiner-Falefa recorded a hit apiece. 

"Good at-bats," Shelton said. "I thought we had good at-bats throughout. We just couldn't get a ball to get through."