PITTSBURGH — The Dodgers had already missed two opportunities to grow their National League West division lead in Pittsburgh this week.
On Thursday, Cy Young frontrunner Paul Skenes never gave them a chance.
In what was a confounding series sweep to the Pirates at PNC Park, the Dodgers’ 5-3 defeat on Thursday was easiest to explain.
In six scoreless innings, Skenes was his typically dominant self. Already the major-league ERA leader entering the night, the second-year right-hander stuck out eight batters, gave up just two hits, escaped his only real threat by stranding a pair of two-out baserunners in the third inning, and simply overpowered the Dodgers with a seven-pitch repertoire headlined by his upper-90s mph sidearm fastball.