After a season’s worth of injuries to the starting rotation in a mere three months and unprecedented bullpen inconsistencies, the Los Angeles Dodgers hope right-handed reliever Daniel Hudson can deliver something close to his past success.
In a high-wire act Wednesday, Hudson recorded his first save in more than a year as the Dodgers earned a 6-4 victory over the Pirates, one day after the bullpen melted down in a loss to Pittsburgh.
The teams meet again Thursday in Los Angeles as the Dodgers look for their third win in the four-game series.
Hudson was making his third appearance of the season after recovering from knee surgery last season. His rust showed when he loaded the bases on a double and two walks with no outs Wednesday before his veteran savvy returned.
Hudson ended the game by striking out Henry Davis, getting Carlos Santana on a shallow fly ball and recording another strikeout on Jack Suwinski.
“It was a lot of fun,” Hudson said on the SportsNet LA broadcast. “I would have liked for it to be a lot easier than that but we’re still getting the hang of this thing. I was proud to be out there and help the team out.”
It wasn’t the only escape act from the bullpen on the night. Phil Bickford loaded the bases in the seventh inning with nobody out but the Pirates did not score. Dodgers right-hander Ryan Brasier came on to get two line outs and a pop up to preserve a two-run lead.
“Certainly some of (the trouble) was self-induced, but just to see the compete there, you bet on a guy who’s been there and he made pitches when he needed to,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Hudson. “… It’s just good to have him back to stabilize us.”
The Dodgers hope to be less reliant on the bullpen in the series finale Thursday when left-hander Julio Urias (5-5, 4.94 ERA) takes the mound. He returned from a hamstring injury Saturday at Kansas City but wasn’t vintage Urias, giving up five runs over three innings while taking the loss. He is 3-3 lifetime against the Pirates with a 4.17 ERA in eight appearances (five starts).
The Pirates will counter with right-hander Johan Oviedo (3-9, 4.61) in an attempt to win the season series against the Dodgers after claiming two of three at Pittsburgh in April.
In the lone loss at home, 8-7 on April 25, Oviedo gave up five runs (four earned) in 5 1/3 innings of a no-decision. Over his five seasons, Oviedo has faced the Dodgers twice (one start) and is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA.
Oviedo’s most recent start was his worst of the season as he gave up eight runs on nine hits in five innings of a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.
“I don’t know what was the problem, to be honest,” Oviedo said. “I just got to be better.”
Said Pirates manager Derek Shelton: “Just command of the fastball was not very good.”
The Pirates have lost four of five but Suwinski has home runs in each of the past two games and three of the past five. Bryan Reynolds went deep Wednesday for the first time in four games since returning from lower back inflammation.