McCutchen's HR, 2 RBI power Pirates past Dodgers

[August 13, 2016]  LOS ANGELES -- Andrew McCutchen loves hitting in Dodger Stadium.

"It's very nice. I like playing here," McCutchen said.

McCutchen and Jordy Mercer homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates continued their dominance of the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 5-1 victory on Friday night before 47,438 at Dodger Stadium.

The Pirates (58-55) won for the 14th time in their last 18 meetings with the Dodgers (64-51), who remained a game back of the National League West-leading San Francisco Giants.

McCutchen, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, is 8-of-16 (.500) with two homers in his last seven games at Dodger Stadium. McCutchen has torched the Dodgers in general, hitting .412 with three home runs and six RBIs in five games, four of those Pittsburgh wins.

McCutchen also chased down a second-inning line drive by Yasmani Grandal that could have gone for extra bases.

"I thought I had a little bit of a chance," McCutchen said. "I got somewhat of a late break on it, but I was able to make up."

The victory pulled the Pirates, winners of five of their last seven, within a game of the Miami Marlins for the second wild-card spot.

Ivan Nova, in his first start against the Dodgers, gave up a run and nine hits with two strikeouts and no walks in 5 1/3 innings. Nova (9-6) is 10-3 in 18 starts against National League clubs.

"Pitching in National League ballparks are bigger than the American League, especially in the east, and the defense behind me has allowed me to be more aggressive in the strike zone," said Nova, who has won both of his starts since the Pirates acquired him from the New York Yankees on Aug. 1.

Tony Watson worked 1/3 of an inning for his fifth save of the season.

Dodgers rookie Ross Stripling couldn't overcome a rough start. Stripling (3-4) surrendered a career-tying five runs -- three in the first inning -- and six hits with four strikeouts and no walks in seven innings. He retired 11 Pittsburgh batters in a row before Mercer led off the seventh with his seventh homer of the season.

"I think I threw the ball really well," said Stripling, who completed his longest start since he pitched 7 1/3 innings in his major league debut against the Giants on April 8. "The first inning was obviously frustrating when one ball really makes it to the outfield and you give up three runs.

"I was able to kind of calm down and bounce back from that. Overall, you feel fine but the results are not what you want."

Dodgers rookie shortstop Corey Seager went 2-for-5 and extended his streak of multi-hit games to four in a row.

 Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen (22) leans on the wall after making a catch off a ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal (not pictured) in the second inning of the game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Pirates plated three runs in the first. McCutchen and David Freese singled home Josh Harrison and Starling Marte, and McCutchen scored on a fielder's choice by Jordy Mercer.

Howie Kendrick drove in Joc Pederson with an RBI single in the second to slice the Pirates' lead to two, but that was pretty much it for the Dodgers' offense.

"I thought we had some good at-bats early, but it was just one of those games that nothing went our way," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

McCutchen's solo shot to right, his 16th home run this season, pushed the margin to 4-1 with one out in the third. McCutchen moved into sole possession of fifth place -- he was tied with Dave Parker -- on the Pirates' career home run list with 167. Barry Bonds is fourth with 176.

"There's nothing like being able to do that, drive the ball to the opposite side and to be able to do it with some authority is always good," McCutchen said. "It lets me know where I need to be and I want to stay there."

NOTES: Pirates C Francisco Cervelli (left wrist discomfort) did not play for the second game in a row. ... The Dodgers reinstated RHP Joe Blanton from the bereavement list and optioned LHP Luis Avilan to Triple-A Oklahoma City. ... The Pirates are 54-0 this season when leading after eight innings. They were one of four teams without a loss when leading after eight heading into the contest, Cleveland (58-0), Baltimore (53-0) and San Diego (39-0) being the others. ... Dodgers LHP Julio Urias celebrated his 20th birthday Friday. ... Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole (7-7, 2.94 ERA) opposes Dodgers RHP Brandon McCarthy on Saturday. On Sunday, Dodgers LHP Brett Anderson, who had surgery for a herniated disk earlier this year, makes his season debut when he starts against Pittsburgh RHP Chad Kuhl (2-0, 3.91 ERA).

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