Dodgers vs Pirates at PNC Park on June 9 told the story of one of baseball’s most frustrating realities: a dominant pitching performance undone the moment the pitcher leaves the game. Paul Skenes held the Dodgers to two runs over six innings in a performance worthy of the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner. The moment he departed, Los Angeles sent 15 batters to the plate, scored 10 runs in 39 minutes, and turned a 2-2 tie into a 12-3 rout. Freddie Freeman collected his 2,500th career hit in the middle of it all. The Dodgers are now 19-6 in their last 25 games.
Dodgers vs Pirates Final Score and Full Box Score
Final Score: Los Angeles Dodgers 12, Pittsburgh Pirates 3 Date: June 9, 2026 | Venue: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Series: LAD leads series 1-0
Scoring by Inning:
- 1: PIT 2, LAD 0
- 2: PIT 0, LAD 1
- 3-5: 0-0
- 6: PIT 0, LAD 1
- 7: PIT 0, LAD 10
- 8: PIT 0, LAD 0
- 9: PIT 1, LAD 0
Team Stats:
- LAD: 15 hits, 12 runs, 0 errors | .375 AVG, 1.021 OPS, 6-for-18 with RISP
- PIT: 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 errors | .156 AVG, 0.581 OPS
Pitching Decisions: W — Will Klein (2-2) | L — Wilber Dotel
Key Dodgers Performers:
- Max Muncy: 3-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 1 double
- Freddie Freeman: 2-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 1 double — 2,500th career hit
- Andy Pages: 2-for-6, 1 HR, 3 RBI
- Mookie Betts: 2-for-6, 2 runs, 1 double
- Alex Freeland: 2-for-5, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 2 runs
- Shohei Ohtani: 1-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 1 run, 1 double
Key Pirates Performers:
- Bryan Reynolds: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 double
- Ryan O’Hearn: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
- Paul Skenes (SP): 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 103 pitches
How Paul Skenes Held the Dodgers Scoreless for Six Innings
All the Dodgers needed was to get Pirates ace Paul Skenes out of the game. After being held to two runs in six innings by the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, the Dodgers scored 10 runs in the seventh inning to decisively break a 2-2 tie.
Skenes delivered a genuinely impressive line: 6 innings pitched, 6 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts on 103 pitches. He left trailing 2-2 after the Dodgers scratched across a run in both the second and sixth innings. In any normal game, that Skenes line earns a win and Pittsburgh walks away with a victory.
The problem is that when you face the deepest lineup in baseball for 18 outs and hand them back to the bullpen at a tie game, you need your relief corps to hold. Pittsburgh’s did not.
The 10-Run Seventh: Play-by-Play Breakdown
The seventh inning was a masterclass in bullpen implosion. Pittsburgh sent out Wilber Dotel to start the inning, but he could not find the zone. The Dodgers sent 15 batters to the plate and forced three Pirates relievers to throw 68 pitches during the 39-minute half-inning.
The first run came on an error, not a hit. The first run in the inning came when Dalton Rushing scored on catcher Henry Davis’ throwing error. Davis hit Rushing in the back while trying to pick him off third base.
From that error, the flood gates opened. Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI double and scored on Andy Pages’ 15th home run, pushing the lead to 5-2. A throwing error by second baseman Brandon Lowe let in another run, Ryan Ward added an RBI single, then Alex Freeland and Ohtani drew consecutive bases-loaded walks as the runs kept accumulating.
Pages added a sacrifice fly before Freeman’s RBI single made it 12-2. Two errors, six hits, five walks, and one home run in a single inning. The Pirates’ pitching staff threw 68 pitches in that stretch and recorded just three outs.
Freddie Freeman’s 2,500th Career Hit: A Milestone in the Chaos
The 10-run inning contained a moment that deserved its own celebration but was almost swallowed by the scoring frenzy.
The big seventh inning also included first baseman Freddie Freeman’s 2,500th career hit. The milestone came on an RBI single to center field off rookie Brandan Bidois that capped the scoring.
Los Angeles held a champagne toast to Freeman in the clubhouse after the game. For a player of Freeman’s caliber, reaching 2,500 career hits in the middle of a 10-run inning that also included a home run, two errors, and five walks is the kind of surreal context that only baseball produces. The milestone was the last thing scored before the Dodgers batted through the order one final time.
Freeman went 2-for-5 on the night with a double and the milestone single, and has been one of the steadier presences in a Dodgers lineup that has had difficulty sustaining full contributions from every star simultaneously.
Andy Pages 3 RBIs and the Homer That Blew It Open
Pages was the player of the game. He finished 2-for-6 with a home run, a sacrifice fly, and 3 RBIs, driving in the runs that turned a tight 3-2 game into an avalanche.
Ohtani scored on Andy Pages’ 15th home run as the Dodgers pushed their lead to 5-2.
Pages’s 15th home run of the season came on a Dotel pitch in the seventh, and the sacrifice fly off Bidois finished his RBI line at three. For a young player still establishing himself in one of the most talent-dense lineups in baseball, a three-RBI performance in a 10-run inning against the opposing team’s ace is the kind of game that builds confidence heading into the second half of the season.
Shohei Ohtani RBI Double: The Spark in the 7th
Ohtani’s contribution was not the loudest in the seventh inning, but it was the first meaningful hit that established the offensive momentum.
After the error gave the Dodgers their first run of the inning, Ohtani hit an RBI double that extended the lead to 4-2. He then scored on Pages’ home run to give the Dodgers breathing room they would never relinquish. On the night, Ohtani went 1-for-5 with a walk, a double, 2 RBIs, and 1 run scored.
Despite a quiet night with the bat, Ohtani’s seventh-inning double came at precisely the right moment, driving in a run that made the inning feel like it was building toward something significant. With bases-loaded walks following later in the same inning, the Dodgers’ patient approach, which manager Dave Roberts specifically praised, created the conditions for 10 runs even without a grand slam or a particularly lucky sequence.
Eric Lauer’s Bounce-Back After the First-Inning Home Runs
The Dodgers were fortunate that Lauer recovered after a rocky start, because they needed every out he could give them to preserve the bullpen for later.
The Pirates struck quickly against Lauer when Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O’Hearn hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning to open the scoring. Reynolds went deep for Pittsburgh and O’Hearn followed immediately, giving Pittsburgh an early 2-0 lead that had the home crowd energized.
Lauer settled in and allowed just one more baserunner as Jared Triolo hit a two-out bloop single in the second inning. Lauer then retired the last 12 batters he faced before being lifted with two outs in the sixth inning.
Lauer told reporters after the game: “I just had to calm myself down and refocus after the home runs. All I could do was focus on the rest of the game, and I felt I was pretty efficient after that. I was happy that I was able to settle in and keep us in the game.”
Lauer’s final line of 5.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 3 hits, and 5 strikeouts did not earn him a win, but it did exactly what the Dodgers needed in a road game against one of the National League’s better starters. Will Klein (2-2) got the win after retiring all four batters he faced.
Roberts on the 10-Run Inning: “We Were Just Taking What We Could Get”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised his team’s approach in the decisive inning, characterizing it as disciplined patience rather than aggressive attack.
“I think our guys were just very patient in that inning,” Roberts said. “You could see those pitchers coming in there, and they were having a hard time throwing strikes, and we were just taking what we could get and weren’t trying to force the issue. We had some good takes, took some walks and threw a couple of big hits in there.”
Freeman offered a simpler summary when asked about the inning: “It was a fun inning. We just kept the line moving.”
The Dodgers drew three walks in the seventh inning alone, with Freeland and Ohtani each working bases-loaded walks. In a 10-run inning, five walks is as important as any home run. The Pirates’ control problems were real and persistent throughout the inning, but the Dodgers’ willingness to work counts and take free passes instead of chasing bad pitches created the conditions for the outburst.
What’s Next: Dodgers vs Pirates Game 2 Wednesday
The Dodgers are now 19-6 in their past 25 games and lead the NL West. They face Pittsburgh in Game 2 of the three-game series on Wednesday at PNC Park, before a third game on Thursday.
The series continues with the Dodgers in control both in the standings and in this series. For Pittsburgh, the 10-run inning will fade from memory quickly, but managing a Dodgers lineup that scores 10 runs in a single inning without a grand slam is the kind of challenge that tests a pitching staff’s depth and composure.
Latest Updates
The game was played June 9, 2026 at PNC Park. MLB.com confirmed the final score of 12-3, Freddie Freeman’s 2,500th career hit in the seventh inning, Andy Pages’ 15th home run, the champagne celebration for Freeman in the clubhouse, and Dave Roberts’ post-game comments. ESPN confirmed the box score and game recap. SportRadar’s live data confirmed Paul Skenes pitched 6 innings with 7 strikeouts and 103 pitches, and that Will Klein earned the win while Wilber Dotel took the loss.
Full sources: MLB.com | ESPN | Yahoo Sports
Broader Implications
The Dodgers’ 10-run seventh inning is a reminder of what makes this roster one of the most dangerous in baseball: depth at every spot in the order and a collective patience at the plate that turns bullpen struggles into blowouts. The fact that the inning produced 10 runs without a grand slam, relying instead on a home run, two errors, five walks, and a series of singles that kept runners moving, reflects the kind of disciplined offensive approach that separates elite lineups from merely good ones.
For the Pirates, Paul Skenes’s performance was everything you would want from a reigning Cy Young winner. His 6-inning, 2-run effort against the best offense in the National League was genuinely impressive. The bullpen collapse that followed does not diminish what Skenes did, but it does highlight the challenge Pittsburgh faces in building a complete team around their ace.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. What was the final score of Dodgers vs Pirates on June 9, 2026? The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-3 at PNC Park on June 9, 2026. The Dodgers scored 10 of their 12 runs in a single seventh-inning outburst, sending 15 batters to the plate in 39 minutes against three Pirates relievers.
2. How many runs did the Dodgers score in the seventh inning? The Dodgers scored 10 runs in the seventh inning, their most in a single inning since June 2, 2021, when they scored 11 runs in the first inning against the Nationals. The inning included Andy Pages’ 15th home run, Freddie Freeman’s 2,500th career hit, two Pittsburgh errors, and five walks.
3. What did Paul Skenes do against the Dodgers? Paul Skenes, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, pitched 6 innings and held the Dodgers to 2 runs on 6 hits, walking 2 and striking out 7 on 103 pitches. He left the game tied 2-2 and received a no-decision when the bullpen allowed 10 runs in the seventh.
4. What was Freddie Freeman’s milestone in the game? Freddie Freeman collected his 2,500th career hit during the seventh-inning rally, an RBI single to center field that capped the scoring at 12-2. The milestone prompted a champagne celebration in the Dodgers’ clubhouse after the game. Freeman went 2-for-5 on the night with a double, an RBI, and 2 runs scored.
5. How many games have the Dodgers won in their last 25 games? The Dodgers won their fifth game in seven games on June 9 and are 19-6 in their last 25 games overall. They lead the NL West and have established themselves as one of the hottest teams in baseball heading into mid-June.
