Tim Benz: Pirates don't want PNC Park to be 'soft' spot to land for up-and-down Dodgers

Jun. 8—As they prepare to host the defending World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, this must've felt good for any Pittsburgh Pirates player or official who happened to check the Los Angeles Times in advance of the three-game series which starts Tuesday. The headline read as follows:

"Dodgers still waiting for season to take off as they enter soft part of schedule."

Yes, the Pirates do represent "soft." They have for most of the last 28 years. This year's edition is currently in last place of the National League Central with a 23-35 record. However, they did just win three of four games against the equally pitiful Miami Marlins.

A torrid stretch of baseball by modern-day Buccos standards.

But that L.A. Times story has a point. If ever there was an opportunity for the streaky 2021 Dodgers to kick it into high gear — and stay there — this upcoming series at PNC Park is a good place to start.

The Pirates are part of a 15-game stretch for Los Angeles which features nothing but sub .500 teams. After their three games on the North Shore, the Dodgers tangle with the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks.

But this scheduling "soft "spot began by dropping two of three to the Atlanta Braves, a series that saw L.A. hit just one home run at Truist Park. That's a stadium that has allowed 98 home runs, tied for the most in all of baseball. That's a stat to which the Pirates can most certainly attest.

PNC Park is currently 26th in that category. But Albert Pujols plays for the Dodgers now. So, based on his career history against the Pirates, expect that number to rise exponentially by the close of business Thursday afternoon.

Pujols has 30 career homers in the Pirates home stadium, the most of any opposing ballpark in his illustrious career aside from Minute Maid Park in Houston (33).

By the way, it was Pujols who hit that lone homer for the Dodgers in Atlanta, his fourth since joining the club. So, buckle up. Maybe the fountain at Point State Park will represent his fountain of youth.

If the Pirates don't serve as the appetizer for a Dodgers feeding frenzy that lasts much of the remaining summer months, one has to wonder if Dodgers fans are going to have to brace themselves for a roller coaster season all year.

Their current funk, in which they've lost six of nine games, comes after a 13-2 hot stretch. Manager Dave Roberts' team also started the season 13-2. But they sandwiched a 5-15 dip in between. So, if ever there was a team looking to use the stumblebum Pirates as a way to get back on the straight and narrow, it's these Dodgers.

"It's been inconsistent, I think," Roberts said after Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Braves. "There's been some really good play. Some mediocre play. The win-loss, I don't really concern myself with that too much right now."

Maybe Roberts is onto something. For all the ebbs and flows to this season, the Dodgers are still nine games above .500 (34-25). That's the sixth-best record in baseball.

It just so happens to be the third-best record in their own division. The San Francisco Giants lead the National League West at 37-22 (the best record in MLB), and the San Diego Padres are second in the division at 37-25.

"Across the board, the pitching has been really good consistently. The offense, I think we need to take good at-bats. Just be more consistent on that side," Roberts added.

Underscoring Roberts' point, the Dodgers rank in the top half or top third in most offensive categories — including second in runs scored (1,996). Their pitchers are fourth in MLB in team ERA at 3.26.

This week, the Pirates will miss front-of-the-line starters, Clayton Kershaw and Trevor Bauer. Just don't assume that'll make things easier for manager Derek Shelton and his lineup. The Dodgers will send Tony Gonsolin to the mound Wednesday, making his season debut after starting 2021 on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation.

But the other two games will feature Walker Buehler (4-0, 2.82 ERA) and Julio Urias (8-2, 3.48 ERA), who leads the National League in wins.

The Pirates will counter with a Major League-worst OPS of .649 at the plate and JT Brubaker, Tyler Anderson and Mitch Keller on the mound. The Pirates haven't had a win against a team with a record above .500 since beating the Giants 8-6 on May 15.

Maybe the presence of the Dodgers will at least be reason enough to get a few fans out to the ballpark after a four-game weekend series that saw only 26,427 fans at the stadium.

That's the total for all four gates. Not on average. That number was only 6,607 people per game.

So much for the notion that fans would flock back to the stadium as pandemic protocols lift, regardless of the product on the field. Those that were at least still in the habit of going pre-coronavirus seem to have fallen out of it.

Regardless, odds are that PNC Park will prove to be a "soft" spot for the Dodgers to land and maybe the start of another one of their hot streaks.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.