PITTSBURGH (AP) — For a change, the Pittsburgh Pirates got to celebrate Friday night.
Matt Joyce homered and doubled among his three hits and Pittsburgh beat Los Angeles 8-6, ending the Dodgers’ six-game winning streak and giving manager Clint Hurdle his 1,000th career victory.
Hurdle is in his sixth season with the Pirates and also had an eight-year managerial stint with the Colorado Rockies from 2002-09.
“It’s pretty cool,” Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer said. “We all got around (in the clubhouse) and recognized him after the game. It’s pretty special.”
Joyce drove in two runs while filling in for right fielder Gregory Polanco, who sat out with lower leg discomfort. His RBI single in a two-run fifth inning helped push the Pirates’ lead to 7-4 and his eighth homer, a solo shot in the seventh off Chris Hatcher, made it 8-6.
Jung Ho Kang also homered as the Pirates won for just the third time in 16 games. Sean Rodriguez had three RBIs and Starling Marte added two hits.
“It’s nice to get back on track,” Joyce said. “It’s nice to get a win. Everyone knows how our month has gone. It was cool to see some guys smiling out there and having fun. Hopefully we can build upon it. That’s what the good ones do. We just have to find our way and get back to how we win.”
Dodgers rookie shortstop Corey Seager had four hits to extend his hitting streak to eight games. He is 16 for 34 (.471) during the streak and has six extra-base hits in his last six games.
Yasiel Puig homered for Los Angeles.
Neftali Feliz (2-0), the fourth of six Pirates pitchers, retired all five batters he faced, and Mark Melancon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save in 22 opportunities.
Adam Frazier, a utility player called up from Triple-A Indianapolis prior to the game, hit a single in his first major league at-bat in the sixth off J.P. Howell after entering in the top half of the inning as part of a double switch.
“It was an interesting way to get there,” Hurdle said of reaching 1,000 wins. “An interesting game.”
Nick Tepesch (0-1) gave up five runs and seven hits in just four innings in his first major league appearance since Sept. 26, 2014 with Texas. Called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City before the game, Tepesch struck out three and walked none.
Pirates rookie starter Jameson Taillon had a second consecutive poor start, allowing four runs and eight hits in four-plus innings with two strikeouts and one walk. He has surrendered a combined eight runs and 16 hits in eight innings in his last two starts after giving up just three runs and eight hits in 14 innings over his first two outings.
Puig hit a 439-foot solo home run, his sixth, into the second tier of bleachers in left field in the sixth inning off Jared Hughes to pull the Dodgers to 7-5.
Puig, Justin Turner and Chase Utley had two hits each for the Dodgers, who homered for the 14th straight game to tie Washington for the longest streak in the majors this season.
The teams combined for 25 hits, 13 by the Pirates.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (left shoulder surgery) gave up eight runs — five earned — in four innings in a rehab start for Oklahoma City on Thursday night, but his fastball reached 90 mph, which manager Dave Roberts said was “encouraging.”
Pirates: While Polanco was out of the lineup, Marte (sore left foot) returned after being limited to pinch hitting in the previous two games.
ROSTER MOVES
Dodgers: OF Will Venable was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Tepesch.
Pirates: RHP Juan Nicasio was reinstated from the restricted list and moved to the bullpen. He left the team Sunday to attend to a family matter. … C Jacob Stallings was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis and RHP Jorge Rondon and INF Cole Figueroa were designated for assignment.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: Kenta Maeda (6-4, 2.64 ERA) will face the Pirates for the first time when he starts Saturday night. He is 3-1 with a 1.52 ERA in his last five starts.
Pirates: LHP Jeff Locke (6-5, 5.44) pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings to beat NL West-leading San Francisco on Monday after giving up a combined 18 runs in 8 2/3 while losing his previous two starts.
