As opportunities to win a series go, they don’t get much better than what the Pirates faced Thursday afternoon.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were already sending a rookie making his first major league start, Dennis Santana, to the mound, but he didn’t even make it that far. Soreness in his right lat during his warm-ups forced Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to scratch him.
That meant the Pirates would face nine innings of a bullpen that sent seven relievers to the mound, and allowed seven runs, Wednesday night. Daniel Hudson, who pitched in both of the first two games of the series, started.