Betts homers, Urias picks up 9th win as Dodgers top Pirates

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mookie Betts hit the 25th leadoff home run of his big leagye career and the Los Angeles Dodgers kept up their dominance of the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6-3 win on Thursday.

Betts took the third pitch he saw from Mitch Keller (3-7) and sent it into the bullpen beyond the centerfield fence for his sixth homer this season. Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner had two hits each and Zack McKinstry drove in two runs as Los Angeles won its 13th straight over the Pirates. Phil Bickford picked up his first save when the game was called with one out in the top of the eighth inning after a rain delay of 1 hour, 15 minutes.

Julio Urías (9-2) became the first nine-game winner in the majors by working six innings to give Los Angeles' overtaxed bullpen a little bit of a breather. Urías added a two-run single in the third off Keller after the Pirates intentionally walked catcher Austin Barnes to load the bases with two outs.

The victory gave the Dodgers their sixth series sweep this season. It also matched their longest winning streak ever against Pittsburgh. They took 13 consecutive games from the Pirates from May 4-July 20, 1952, when the franchise was in Brooklyn.

Keller, who left his previous start last Friday after just two innings with what the team called "heat-related illness, remains a bit of an enigma. Penciled in to be part of the core of the team's rotation as the franchise goes through a massive overhaul, the 25-year-old struggled with his command. He walked three and hit a pair of batters while lasting just 2 2/3 innings and throwing only 41 of his 72 pitches for strikes.

Bryan Reynolds hit his team-leading 10th home run for the Pirates. Adam Frazier extended his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games but Pittsburgh has dropped four straight and is 11-27 over its last 38 games after briefly ticking over...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Betts-homers-Urias-picks-up-9th-win-as-Dodgers-16239710.php