Pirates 3, Dodgers 0: Pitchers bend but don't break

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Pirates 3, Dodgers 0: Pitchers bend but don't break

JUSTIN K. ALLER / GETTY

Bryan Reynolds reacts after his home run in the first inning Wednesday at PNC Park.

Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen each went deep in the first two innings tonight, while Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows and company kept the Dodgers' potent lineup at bay in the Pirates' 3-0 win here at PNC Park.

Ashcraft was a bit wild in walking four batters over three innings, but he managed to strike out four batters and escape two bases-loaded jams in the early going. Burrows matched Ashcraft's three scoreless innings, allowing two hits, walking one and striking out three. Evan Sisk, Isaac Mattson and Dennis Santana combined to toss three clean frames to preserve the team's 17th shutout of the season. The Dodgers stranded 10 runners on base in the loss.

"When you look at what Braxton did in the second inning -- bases loaded, nobody out -- and to be able to get out of that without a run scoring was really impressive," Don Kelly said. "The fastball command wasn't there, didn't seem to have the command of anything in particular in the middle of that inning. And for him to be able to get bases loaded, dial it back in and work through it, it was incredible. Burrows came in, pitched extremely well through six, Sisk coming out for the seventh, going through the top, and then Mattson, back-to-back days, and Santana, I mean, I don't think we get to talk about him enough. He's been so steady for us all year long and dominated again in the ninth."

The Pirates finished with seven hits, including three from Joey Bart, who contributed in the run-scoring department with an RBI double in the sixth.