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| Tuesday, Apr. 24 10:10pm ET Vander Wal provides punch with homer | |||||||||||||
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GAME LOG
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Omar Olivares was in control, keeping the Dodgers off-balance by accurately working the corners. Olivares combined with three relievers on a four-hitter, and John Vander Wal hit a three-run homer as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 Tuesday night. "I had a lot better command of my pitches and I didn't make mistakes in the strike zone," Olivares said. "There were only two pitches that didn't go where I wanted them to. That's the key, hitting your spots and being able to change speeds while you're doing it." Olivares (1-2) gave up three hits in 5 1/3 shutout innings, struck out seven and walked two in his fourth start for the Pirates. Fifty of 81 pitches were strikes. "He hit his spots, used all his pitches and kept the ball down," Pittsburgh catcher Jason Kendall said. "When you do that, you're going to be successful, I don't care whose lineup you're facing." The Dodgers' Chan Ho Park also pitched well with the exception of the third inning, when he gave up a three-run homer to Vander Wal after Olivares doubled and Kendall walked. "It was tough luck. I made a good pitch and he just hit it," said Park (2-2), who gave up four hits in seven innings. "Seven innings, three runs -- not too bad. But I would like to have gotten the bunt down when we had our only chance to score." That was in the fifth, when Olivares gave up a leadoff single to Chad Kreuter and hit Alex Cora with a pitch. But Park wasn't able to advance the runners and struck out. Tom Goodwin then lined to first, starting a double play. Olivares, taken out after giving up a one-out walk to Gary Sheffield in the sixth, was followed by Terry Mulholland, Bronson Arroyo and Jose Silva, who surrendered a ninth-inning RBI double to Kreuter. Pittsburgh stretched the lead to 5-0 in the eighth on Aramis Ramirez's run-scoring single and Kevin Young's RBI double. Park had control problems, walking five and striking out just one. Three of the walks were to Kendall, who batted leadoff for the eighth time in nine games because of Adrian Brown's sore right shoulder. Olivares, 33, was acquired by Pittsburgh from Oakland on March 28 after he lost the fifth spot in the Athletics' starting rotation to Cory Lidle. With the strong outing against the Dodgers, Olivares avoided extending the worst start of his major league career -- he had not gone 0-2 in any season before this year. Vander Wal, who went 1-for-2, is 9-for-19 in his last five games, with two homers, to doubles, a triple and seven RBIs. "I can put together some good at-bats, then lose it," he said. "The objective is to try to stay as consistent as possible, and that's what I'm doing now." Game notesThe Dodgers signed Jesse Orosco, who turned 44 last Saturday, to a minor league contract with the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. The left-hander was 0-3 with a 6.35 ERA in nine games as a non-roster invitee with Los Angeles this spring. The Dodgers released the 21-year major league veteran on March 30. ... The Dodgers honored Pirates great Willie Stargell, who died April 9, with a moment of silence and a video montage on the big screen above left field. Stargell remains the only player ever to hit a ball over the right-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium, with his 506-foot, 6 1/2-inch blast off Alan Foster in 1969 still the longest home run ever hit at the stadium. He cleared the pavilion again in 1973 with a 470-foot shot off Andy Messersmith. The only other players to hit a ball out of the stadium, both over the left-field pavilion, were Mike Piazza and Mark McGwire, with one shot out apiece. ... The Pirates have yet to face a left-handed starter this season. San Francisco is the only other team that hasn't.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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OTHER GAMES Baseball Scoreboard Pittsburgh Clubhouse Los Angeles Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 9 Minnesota 4
Pittsburgh 5
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