Los Angeles 2 – Pittsburgh 1

W: K. Jansen (1-0)
L: J. Grilli (0-1)
S: J. Guerra (3)

Post-Game Buzz

— Kevin Correia pitched six solid innings and the Pirates finally got to LA Dodgers (4-1) ace Clayton Kershaw in the 7th, but Andre Ethier broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the 8th inning, hitting a solo home run off reliver Jason Grilli, leading the Dodgers to a 2-1 win over the Pirates on Tuesday afternoon.
The Pirates (2-2) for the fourth straight game, got another strong start in the rotation as Kevin Correia went 6 innings, allowing 4 hits and 1 run, while striking out 3 and walking 2. Correia who many feel is likely to be the odd-man out when the rotation is at full health, gave up his only run in the first inning on a Matt Kemp RBI groundout. Correia threw five scoreless innings after that and left after the 6th inning with a pitch count of 81, throwing 52 strikes.
— The Pirates offensively were silent for the most part as Kershaw limited the Pirates to just 2 hits through 6 innings but Pittsburgh got to Kershaw in the 7th inning. Alex Presley led off the inning with an infield single and Andrew McCutchen singled to left moving Presley to second and a Casey McGehee fly out moved Presley to third base.
Matt Hague’s RBI groundout to short, tied the game at 1-1, scoring Presley. Hague who has RBI’s in back-to-back games, got the start at first base, while Casey McGehee started at third.
— Clayton Kershaw the 2011 Cy young winner, only ran into trouble in the 7th inning and had an official line of: 7.0 innings pitched – 4 hits – 1 run – 7 strikeouts – 0 walks
— The Pirates were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and had 10 strikeouts and 0 walks. Neil Walker was a team-worst 0-2 with RISP and was 0-3 on the day. He’s batting .077 on the season.
— Alex Presley continues to make things happen and was 2-4 with 1 run scored. He’s batting .353 through four games.
— Clint Barmes struggles at the plate continued today. Barmes was 0-3 with two strikeouts. He’s hitless on the season.
PLAYER NOTES
RF Jose Tabata (.167) 0-1, 1 Strikeout
LF Alex Presley (.353) 2-4, 1 run, 1 strikeout
CF Andrew McCutchen (.333) 1-4
3B Casey McGehee (.333) 1-3, triple, 1 strikeout
1B Matt Hague (.143) 0-3, RBI, 2 strikeouts
2B Neil Walker (.077) 0-3, 1 strikeout
C Rod Barajas (.100) 0-3, 1 strikeout
SS Clint Barmes (.000) 0-3, 2 strikeouts
P Kevin Correia (.500) 1-2, 1 strikeout
PH Garrett Jones (.000) 0-1
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SP Kevin Correia (0-0, 1.50 ERA) 6 innings pitched – 4 hits – 1 run – 3 strikeouts – 2 walks (81 pitches, 52 strikes, 16 first pitch strikes)
Reliever Juan Cruz (0.00 ERA) 1.0 innings pitched, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 strikeouts (17 pitches, 12 strikes)
Reliever Jason Grilli (0-1, 4.50 ERA) 1.0 inning pitched, 1 hit, 1 run (HR), 2 strikeouts, (18 pitches, 14 strikes)
Next Up: Apr 11, 2012 PIT (Erik Bedard) vs LAD ( Chad Billingsley) 10:10 PM ET