Animated: A.J. Burnett Tells Hanley Ramirez To Sit Down

Pirates Vs. Dodgers Final Score: Bucs Avoid Sweep With 10-6 Win

Garrett Jones plated six runs for the Pirates on Thursday, leading them to a 10-6 victory against Dodgers. Those six RBIs for Jones came by way of a pair of three-run shots. With the win, Pittsburgh avoids a four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers.

Pedro Alvarez also homered for the Pirates, while A.J. Burnett became the first Bucs pitcher in 13 years to record 15 wins. Burnett gave up six earned runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings of work. He also struck out seven and walked just one.

James Loney and Hanley Ramirez each hit long balls for the Dodgers, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.

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Pirates Vs. Dodgers: Bucs Make Pair Of Roster Moves

The Pittsburgh Pirates executed a pair of moves on Thursday afternoon when the club recalled right-handed pitcher Jared Hughes and infielder Yamaico Navarro from the team's Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians.

In the process, the club placed right-handed reliever Chad Qualls on the bereavement list, which is used when a player needs to leave the team in order to attend to a serious illness or death in his or his spouses immediate family. By rule, any player on the bereavement list must miss a minimum of three games and no more than seven.

The club is allowed to add a player on the 40-man roster to replace the player on bereavement, which is what Hughes will be doing.

In addition, the club optioned left-handed reliever Jeff Locke to Indianapolis, in order to make room for Navarro. Locke has appeared in two games with the Pirates this season allowing one hit in 4.1 innings pitched.

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Pirates Vs. Dodgers: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The Pittsburgh Pirates are desperately clinging to a lead in the NL wild-card race, and will look pad it on Thursday when they take on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Los Angeles has won the first two games of this series, vaulting themselves over the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. The Pirates meanwhile maintain a half-game edge over the aforementioned Giants, and will have A.J. Burnett on the hill.

Burnett has been a pleasant surprise in 2012, having a Cy Young-type season. The 35-year-old is 14-4 with a 3.32 ERA, leading the Pittsburgh staff easily in the wins department. However, Burnett was touched up in his last start allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits in a losing effort to the San Diego Padres.

He'll be opposed by Joe Blanton, who is still looking for his first win as a Dodger. In his only two starts in blue and white, Blanton is 0-1 with the loss coming in his last appearance against the Miami Marlins. He was mediocre in that outing, surrendering four runs in five innings on six hits.

Once Pittsburgh is finished with the Dodgers, the Pirates will embark on a road trip to visit the St. Louis Cardinals.

TV: ROOT Sports

Time: 4:05 p.m. ET

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Neil Walker Injury: Pirates Second Baseman 'Optimistic' After Suffering Dislocated Finger

Pirates second baseman Neil Walker dislocated his right pinky finger while trying to turn a double play in the first inning of Wednesday night's 9-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He fielded a ground ball up the middle by Matt Kemp, ranging to his right, then went back to tag second before throwing on to first. Walker fell as Mark Ellis slid into second, and appeared to injure the finger when he fell.

Walker, who has had a dislocated finger before, is "optimistic" that he'll be back soon.

"I’m going to see a hand specialist (Thursday)," Walker said. "Fortunately there’s no break. … I couldn’t put a number on it, but I’m very optimistic about a quick return."

The Pirates are struggling to stay afloat and can scarcely afford to lose Walker, one of their better hitters, for an extended period of time.

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Pirates Vs. Dodgers Final Score: Bucs Get Beat Again, 9-3

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost their second straight to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night, falling 9-3 at PNC Park.

Pirates second baseman Neil Walker left early in the game with a dislocated finger.

Wandy Rodriguez remains winless as a Pirate after pitching just five innings and allowing as many runs on 10 hits and a walk. His relief didn't fare any better, with Chris Resop having a rare bad outing, giving up four runs in just one inning.

Clayton Kershaw wasn't dominant, but certainly pitched well enough to earn the victory. The reigning Cy Young Award winner went eight frames while surrendering just three runs on six hits while striking out eight.

Pittsburgh did get a home run off the bat of Andrew McCutchen, his 24th of the year. The only multi-hit game for the Bucs was authored by Gaby Sanchez, who stroked a pair of doubles.

Matt Kemp did the major damage for Los Angeles, amassing three RBI on the evening. Andre Ethier and Shane Victorino also had a helping hand in the win, collecting three hits apiece.

The Pirates remain in a wild-card spot for now, still a half-game better than the San Francisco Giants.

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Dodgers Vs. Pirates Lineups: Pedro Alvarez Sits Against Clayton Kershaw

Here are the lineups for the Dodgers' contest against the Pirates Wednesday night, as Clayton Kershaw faces Wandy Rodriguez at 7:05.

Dodgers:

Shane Victorino LF
Mark Ellis 2B
Matt Kemp CF
Hanley Ramirez SS
Andre Ethier RF
Juan Rivera 1B
Luis Cruz 3B
A.J. Ellis C
Clayton Kershaw P

Pirates:

Starling Marte LF
Neil Walker 2B
Andrew McCutchen CF
Gaby Sanchez 1B
Michael McKenry C
Garrett Jones RF
Josh Harrison 3B
Jordy Mercer SS
Wandy Rodriguez P

The struggling Pedro Alvarez gets the night off against a very tough lefty; Josh Harrison starts in his place. Meanwhile, Gaby Sanchez, who usually hits lefties well, takes over at first base. Michael McKenry gets the start behind the plate, probably much to the delight of Pirates fans who strongly prefer him to Rod Barajas at this point. Jordy Mercer, who recently has been appearing more frequently, starts in place of Clint Barmes.

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Pirates Vs. Dodgers: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

After being drubbed 11-0 on Tuesday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates will be looking for some revenge against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday evening at PNC Park.

Pittsburgh has been in a playoff spot for quite a while, but with a loss would fall behind the Dodgers and potentially out of the second wild-card position depending on what the San Francisco Giants do (L.A. and S.F. are tied for NL West lead).

The burden falls on newly acquired Wandy Rodriguez to not let that happen. Rodriguez has been decent this season with a 7-11 record and 3.91 ERA. Since joining the Pirates, Rodriguez is 0-2 in his three starts.

However, he hasn't pitched terribly but has gone without much run support. In his last start, the 33-year-old surrendered four runs in six innings to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Opposing him will be Clayton Kershaw, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner. Kershaw has been terrific again in 2012, compiling a 10-6 mark and a 2.88 ERA.

In his last three starts -- all wins -- Kershaw has allowed just three runs in 22.1 innings on 11 hits. In that same stretch, he's struck out 21 batters while walking just four.

TV: FOX PITT

Time: 7:05 p.m. ET

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Dodgers Vs. Pirates Recap: Kevin Correia Roughed Up, Chad Billingsley Dominant

The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped their second straight game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, falling 11-0 on Tuesday night. The Bucs were dominated by Dodger starter Chad Billingsley, who pitched eight innings of shutout ball. Billingsley was fantastic all evening, working quickly after nearly an hour rain delay and allowing just five hits in his eight innings of work. It looked like he could go the distance but a huge ninth inning rally by his offense kept him on the bench for awhile and made it senseless for him to come back out with 107 pitches already thrown.

Kevin Correia, on the other hand, was knocked around by the Dodgers, who put six runs on the board to give Billingsley a nice cushion. The Dodgers got to Correia the second time through the order, putting together a three-run rally in the top of the fourth. An error by Neil Walker also gave LA an extra out, and they came through to load up the bases. James Loney knocked in the first run of the inning to make it 2-0, bringing home Matt Kemp from third on a ground out to the right side. With runners on second and third, Luis Cruz took a Correia pitch to left center to score Andre Ethier and Hanley Ramirez.

In his next at-bat, Cruz would drive in Ramirez yet again with another single back up the middle to center. An A.J. Ellis sac fly plated Loney to make it 6-0 and close the books on Bucs' starter. Much like Correia, another shakier Bucs hurler was roughed up later in the game as the Dodgers teed off on Chad Qualls in the top of the ninth to add five more runs and make it a laugher. The inning featured five hits and a throwing error by Qualls, with the Dodgers just one hitter shy of batting around in an interminable final frame.

The best the Bucs can do now is split the four-game set, and they'll try to start that on Wednesday with Wandy Rodriguez on the mound. He'll be opposed by one of the best pitchers in the game, LA ace Clayton Kershaw.

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Pirates Vs. Dodgers: Garrett Jones Looks To Continue To Hit Well Vs. Chad Billingsley

The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced their starting lineup for Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at 7:05 p.m. at PNC Park. The Pirates (64-51) have dropped all four games this season against the Dodgers (63-53), including the opener of this series, 5-4, on Monday.

Here's the Pirates lineup for Tuesday:

Starling Marte LF
Travis Snider RF
Andrew McCutchen CF
Garrett Jones 1B
Neil Walker 2B
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Rod Barajas C
Clint Barmes SS
Kevin Correia P

Correia (9-6, 4.49 ERA) has won seven straight decisions for the Pirates. The Dodgers will start Chad Billingsley (8-9, 3.84 ERA). Billingsley has picked up a win in his last four starts in a row. Two Pirates hitters have very different histories against Billingsley. Garrett Jones, who was 4-for-4 at the plate on Monday, is 4-for-9 all-time against Billingsley while Neil Walker is just 1-for-9 against the big right-hander.

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Pirates Vs. Dodgers Preview: Game Time, TV Schedule, Pitching Probables

It's not ideal for a team to rely on a spot start to earn a bounce-back victory, but that's just what the Pittsburgh Pirates will be asked to do Tuesday when Kevin Correia takes the mound for the Bucs at PNC Park (7:05 p.m. ET on Root Sports). Correia will make his second spot start of the season, as he will oppose Chad Billingsley of the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, who took the first game of a three-game series on Monday.

Billingsley has given up just six runs in his last six starts.

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Pirates vs. Dodgers: A.J. Burnett To Start Thursday On Regular Rest

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle has altered his rotation to ensure starter A.J. Burnett pitches on regular rest Thursday against the Dodgers at PNC Park, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Bill Brink. Burnett had been scheduled to pitch on Friday in St. Louis on five days rest as a result of Hurdle's decision to go to a six-man rotation for the time being, but Hurdle wanted to get the veteran on the mound with his normal rest.

"I think the one game pushing him back, giving him the extra day, is sufficient enough, in conversation with him, to get him back on a five-day schedule," Hurdle said.

"Keeping your staff ace in a good place, I think, would be at the top of the list."

The move bumps James McDonald, the pitcher originally slated to start Thursday, back a day in the rotation. Hurdle told Brink that McDonald will get an extra side session before returning to action on Friday to start a critical series against the Cardinals, hot on the Bucs' tail for the second National League wildcard spot. McDonald gave up seven earned runs in his last start against the Padres on Friday and has been struggling for about the last month, so the extra work might be just what he needs to start turning things around.

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Dodgers Vs. Pirates: Shane Victorino And LA Hold Off Pittsburgh 5-4

Led by Shane Victorino's 10th home run of the year, the Dodgers beat the Pirates 5-4 Monday

Dodgers Vs. Pirates: Aaron Harang, Jeff Karstens Face Off Monday

The Pirates will try to close the gap in the N.L. Central during a four-game set against the Dodgers.