PITTSBURGH _ The turning point in the Los Angeles Dodgers' latest victory _ a dragged-out, 11-7 series finale over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday at PNC Park _ was not a slugger's towering blast or a spectacular defensive play or a pitcher's tightrope escape. It unfolded over a few minutes in the fifth inning, in the least thrilling of ways yet fitting for baseball in 2019: a 12-pitch clash between Max Muncy and Pirates right-hander Chris Archer that finally ended in a leadoff walk.
By the time Muncy took his base, the Dodgers had another opposing starting pitcher operating on fumes with their merciless methodical approach. Archer's pitch count was at 90. The meat of the Dodgers' order was coming for him. The end was near.
Archer got three outs but not before the Dodgers (35-18) scored three runs to seize a lead they wouldn't relinquish. He threw 33 pitches in the inning, leaving him with 105, which cut his day short and opened the door for the Dodgers to bludgeon the Pirates' bullpen.
The systematic three-game destruction of a Pittsburgh pitching staff in disarray _ the Pirates, for example, started an opener Friday out of necessity and will call up their top pitching prospect to start the nightcap of their doubleheader Monday _ concluded with a cumulative score of 28-11. And it sent the Dodgers home with a 6-2 record on their three-city, 11-day trip after applying the finishing touches over three hours and 44 minutes on a steamy afternoon.
After Muncy worked his 12-pitch walk, Justin Turner delivered the third of his career-high five hits _ he also walked to reach base a career-high six times _ and Cody Bellinger walked to load the bases. Matt Beaty, a 26-year-old rookie, smacked a single through the right side for two of his four runs batted in to catapult the Dodgers ahead for good. Corey Seager's groundout drove in another run.
The Dodgers tacked on six more runs in a 28-minute sixth inning against right-handers Montana DuRapau and Dovydas Neverauskas. Joc Pederson bookended the scoring with his two at-bats in the inning, belting a leadoff home run _ his 15th this season _ and poking a two-out RBI single.
After registering two hits Saturday, Seager, who was batting sixth for the fifth time this season, supplied the game's first run with a leadoff home run in the second inning. The homer was Seager's fifth.
The Dodgers' lead lasted a half inning. Josh Bell led off the second with a single for the Pirates (25-25) before Bryan Reynolds launched a 3-0 fastball from Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda over the right-field wall. The Pirates added a third run in the fifth against Maeda, whose five-inning outing snapped the Dodgers' streak of quality starts _ defined as logging at least six innings while allowing three or fewer runs _ at 12.
Making his first start since going on the injured list with a minor, if that, thigh bruise, Maeda allowed five hits, walked none and struck out four. He threw 81 pitches. Left-hander Caleb Ferguson replaced him and gave up three runs in the sixth.
Ferguson's troubles, which featured a walk and four singles, did not endanger the Dodgers. Their cushion was ample. They padded it in typical fashion, waiting the opposing pitcher out, forcing him to throw strikes and capitalizing on mistakes over the plate. The formula overwhelmed the Pirates' pitching staff again and produced the Dodgers' ninth win in 11 games.
