Jeff Karstens allowed three runs in the first inning against the Dodgers Thursday night. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t put the game out of reach, particularly given that he and the Pirates’ relievers then shut the Dodgers down the rest of the game.

This year, though, the Bucs can’t seem to score if their lives depend on it, and three runs might as well be a hundred. They did get one run in the fifth on a long blast to center by backup catcher Michael McKenry, then another in the sixth, but that was all they could muster, and the Dodgers won, 3-2.

Los Angeles starter Chris Capuano pitched 5.1 innings and had seven strikeouts and no walks, continuing a trend of poor control of the strike zone by the Pirates’ offense. Karstens’ long first inning earned him the loss, and he finished with five innings, three strikeouts and one walk.

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