LOS ANGELES_And, in the seventh inning, they did not score.
But the Los Angeles Dodgers did score in each of the first six innings on Saturday, piling up 17 hits in an 8-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The victory was not the most artistic of the year for the Dodgers, but it nonetheless pulled them within one-half game of the lead in the National League West. The first-place San Francisco Giants play Saturday night.
Joc Pederson, who hit his 17th home run, had three hits and finished a triple shy of the cycle. Corey Seager had three hits too, and the first seven batters in the Dodgers lineup all had at least two hits.
The Dodgers, who lost starter Brandon McCarthy to injury in the second inning, needed seven pitchers to navigate the nine innings. Closer Kenley Jansen got the final out for his 35th save.
The Dodgers issued 11 walks, gave up 10 hits and still won. The Pirates left 18 men on base and went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position.
Gerrit Cole, the Pirates' starter, gave up six runs and 12 hits in 4 1/3 innings. He was betrayed by three Pittsburgh errors and a passed ball.
Seager put the Dodgers ahead to stay with an RBI single in the fourth inning.
The second inning appeared particularly ominous for the Dodgers. Brandon McCarthy, the starting pitcher, left the game because of what the team called stiffness in his right hip.
Josh Fields rushed into the game to replace him. And, by the end of the inning, phenom Julio Urias was warming up, because someone had to be the long reliever. The Dodgers are carefully monitoring how many innings Urias pitches this season; he threw 2 2/3 on Saturday. His season total is 96, eight more than his previous high in a season.
Urias also singled in the fourth inning and squeezed home a run in the fifth.
McCarthy, plagued by an inability to command his fastball, walked in a run in each of the first two innings. He faced 13 batters in all, walking five and hitting one, and giving up two hits.
