The Pirates fell below .500 on Wednesday as their record dropped to 18-19 with an ugly 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park.
Paul Maholm took the loss after an ugly sixth inning in which he allowed the first three batters to reach base. He got Juan Uribe to ground into a double play, but that scored a run, and Maholm allowed another on a double by Jerry Sands.
Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda mowed down the Pirates for eight strikeouts in seven innings, and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. The Pirates only had four hits total for the game, and their only bright spot on offense was Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez, who has been slumping since the beginning of the season, had a long gap double and also hit several other balls very hard, including a ball that narrowly missed being a long home run, going just to the right of the foul pole in right field. This was a pretty nasty game overall, however.