Paul Skenes allowed four hits over 5 1/3 shutout innings and Henry Davis homered for the lone run of the game as the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the visiting Los Angeles Angels 1-0 in the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon.
Brandon Lowe added two hits for Pittsburgh (71-73), which won its fourth straight series despite scoring just one run in all three games. The Pirates also won Friday night’s series opener, 1-0.
Skenes (10-11), facing the team he rooted for while growing up in southern California for the first time in his career, snapped a seven-start winless streak with his first victory since a 7-1 win at Cleveland on July 19. He walked one and struck out two, departing after throwing 87 pitches, 61 for strikes.
Mason Montgomery, the fourth of four Pittsburgh relievers, struck out one and allowed a walk in the ninth en route to his 10th save.
Mike Trout doubled and had two hits for Los Angeles (54-89). Rookie Walbert Urena (9-10) was the tough-luck loser, throwing his first career complete game and allowing one run on three hits over a career-high eight innings. He walked one and struck out four.
Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Davis hit his ninth home run, a towering 364-foot drive down the left field line. It was his first home run since July 12 against Milwaukee.
The Pirates had a chance to add on to their lead an inning later when Lowe led off with a single and advanced to second on a walk by Bryan Reynolds. But Urena got out of the jam by getting Nick Gonzales to ground into a double play and then striking out Oneil Cruz.
The Angels’ best chance to tie it came in the fifth inning. Zach Neto was hit by a pitch with two outs and Trout followed with a double to left-center. However, Neto was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a perfect relay from Cruz to Lowe to Davis.
–Field Level Media
