, Alex Rodriguez (2007) and Christian Yelich (this year) for the most home runs before the end of the season's first full month. Bellinger had three RBIs and leads the major leagues with a .427 average and 36 RBIs.Los Angeles has won four straight overall and seven in a row at home, improving to an NL-best 19-11. The Pirates have lost eight consecutive games overall and 14 of their last 16 against the Dodgers.Pittsburgh's Melky Cabrera had four hits, including first multi-homer game since July 2015 and the fifth of his career.Julio Urias (2-1) allowed one run in two innings, and Kenley Jansen pitched in an out of trouble in the ninth for his 10th save in 11 chances. Adam Frazier walked with two outs and Cabrera doubled, but Gregory Polanco struck out.A day after getting the Pirates' attention when he bumped into catcher Francisco Cervelli when scoring a run, Muncy had three hits.Bellinger's fourth-inning homer started the comeback. Corey Seager hit a two-run double in the fifth and scored the tying run on Muncy's single.Muncy singled over the outstretched glove of shortstop Cole Tucker against Richard Rodriguez (0-2) in the seventh, and Bellinger greeted left-hander Francisco Liriano with an RBI single for a 7-5 lead. Josh Bell had a run-scoring single against Urias in the eighth.HIT PARADEBellinger's 44 hits are a Dodgers record before May, one more than Rafael Furcal in 2008.TRAINER'S ROOMDodgers: LHP Caleb Ferguson was placed on the 10-day injured list after straining his left oblique muscle Saturday.UP NEXTPirates: RHP Jordan Lyles (2-105 ERA) opens a two-game series Tuesday at TexasDodgers: RHP Kenta Maeda (3-2) starts at San Francisco on Monday after giving up a season-high six earned runs against the Chicago Cubs in his last outing.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Hill will make first start for Dodgers against Pirates When left-hander Rich Hill follows left-hander Clayton Kershaw in the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, it will signify a team that is starting to feel whole again.Kershaw made his third start of the season Saturday in classic form with one run over seven innings, while Hill hasn't pitched at all yet because of a left knee strain. Expected to be the one-two punch of the Dodgers rotation, the veterans have finally synced up, albeit one month late."We have checked all the boxes and he feels great," said manager Dave Roberts, who sees no reason why Hill can't be the pitcher of old right from the start. "The ball is coming out well. We wanted to get him up to 90 pitches and six innings (in his rehab work) and we did that. To his credit, he went along with the plan." Roberts insists that Hill will be treated as if he was making his sixth start of the season, not his first, and he will have no pitch or innings restrictions. It remains to be seen. Kershaw was held to 84 pitches in his season debut April 15, but he was efficient enough to go seven innings.Hill, who was 11-5 with a 3.66 ERA last season, has made 10 career starts against the Pirates, going 4-2 with a 3.28 ERA.The Pirates will send right-hander Trevor Williams (1-1, 2.59) to the mound in the series finale Sunday in an attempt to end a seven-game losing streak.Williams has delivered a quality start in all five of his outings so far. He has just one victory to show for it because he has only received 11 runs of support all season.A year after winning 14 games and delivering a 3.11 ERA for a Pirates team that finished three games over .500, Williams is showing continued growth following a season when he found pinpoint fastball control.More important to the Pirates is that they are 4-1 in games started by Williams. And that lone defeat came Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks when he gave up just two runs on four hits over seven innings."It's tough, but we're playing some competitive baseball," Williams said about the team's mediocre start despite a dominating starting staff. "We're going to have some tough-luck losses, and we're going to have some great wins as well by one or two runs." Williams is 0-1 in three career starts against the Dodgers, with a 6.43 ERA.Neither the Dodgers nor the Pirates have dazzled out of the bullpen, although the Dodgers did get a show-stopping outing from Pedro Baez, who escaped a bases-loaded jam with no outs to preserve a 3-1 victory Saturday.The Dodgers feel that more plus relief outings are in store with effective starters Julio Urias and Ross Stripling moving to the bullpen.Add all that to some robust offensive production, led by early MVP candidate Cody Bellinger, and the Dodgers feel that their NL-best 18 victories are only the jumping off point for what they hope is even better things ahead."It is what I expected from our guys," Roberts said about the team's ability to have success while starting the season without two pitching veterans. "When you construct a roster, you have to adapt. I don't know how many times I've used that word, but it comes into play every year." Despite losing right-handed starter Chris Archer to the injured list because of right thumb inflammation, Williams will be part of a four-man rotation moving forward as the Pirates take advantage of three off days through May 6.--Field Level Media
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Los Angeles Dodgers
Pick Center
MLB
FINAL (4/28/2019)
LiveSportsTradingDude
