PITTSBURGH –– First, the Pirates robbed Shohei Ohtani of a sure-fire home run.

Then, they turned around and stole the whole game.

At the start of the seventh inning Wednesday night, the Dodgers had a five-run lead, Ohtani on the mound and a series-clinching win all but secured at PNC Park.

By the end of the eighth, the script had turned upside down on them, with the Pirates storming back –– then holding on –– for a 9-8 win that marked one of the most painful results of the Dodgers’ season.

“This one stung because I thought we were playing good baseball,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We have no business losing that game.”

First, the Pirates robbed Shohei Ohtani of a sure-fire home run. Archie Carpenter/UPI/Shutterstock

At the start of the seventh inning Wednesday night, the Dodgers had a five-run lead, Ohtani on the mound and a series-clinching win all but secured at PNC Park. Getty Images

The collapse began with Ohtani, who was pulled from a start mid-inning for the first time all year.

After six strong frames of one-run ball –– and a near two-run homer as a batter in the third that was brought back on a leaping effort from Pirates right fielder Bryan Reynolds –– Ohtani issued a leadoff walk to begin the seventh, then couldn’t get to a swinging bunt in front of the mound that put two runners aboard with no outs.

The two-way star nearly pulled off an escape act from there, striking out his next two batters while nursing a 6-1 lead Ryan Ward had given him with a grand slam an inning earlier.

Alas, after falling behind 3-0 to Brandon Lowe in an at-bat that featured a couple missed ABS challenge opportunities, Ohtani fired a fastball that was ambushed for a two-run double down the line.

“After the [first] two hitters, the two outs felt pretty good,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “It was just a mis-execution on that 3-0 pitch.”

The collapse began with Ohtani, who was unable to finish a start with a completed inning of work for the first time all year. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

But then, in a 3-0 count to Brandon Lowe, Ohtani fired a fastball that was ambushed for a two-run double down the line. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

That ended Ohtani’s night, pushing his ERA over 1.00 for the first time all season (granted, his 1.06 mark is still best in the majors among pitchers with 60 innings).

Meanwhile, it would only be the beginning of the Dodgers’ meltdown, as their once-stout bullpen suffered an increasingly familiar late-game implosion.

Lowe came around to score against Alex Vesia, after a hard-hit ground ball got past Max Muncy at third base.

Then in the eighth, Kyle Hurt became the night’s biggest culprit, walking his first two batters before giving up a three-run, go-ahead blast to Pirates youngster Tyler Callihan on a hanging first-pitch changeup.

The homer marked the second big fly of the night for Callihan, who had recorded his first career big-league blast on a solo blast against Ohtani in the fourth inning that left the stadium over the right-field seats.

It would also be the first of two balls the Pirates (35-33) sent out of the yard in the eighth, with Spencer Horwitz making it a five-run rally with a two-run shot off Jack Dreyer later in the frame.

“When you give free passes, it sort of builds momentum for the other team,” Roberts said. “It takes one hit for them to score a run instead of a couple hits to build an inning. I think right now we’re doing a little self-inflicted damage.”

Down 9-6 at that point, Ohtani got the Dodgers back within one with a two-run homer in the ninth, ensuring he wouldn’t have a second long ball robbed by driving his 12th of the year deep to center.

However, it was too little, too late, with the Dodgers (43-25) losing for just the fourth time this year when leading after seven innings.

“I know there have been some others that stung a little bit,” Roberts said. “[But of] recently, this one doesn’t feel good.”

That ended Ohtani’s night, pushing his ERA over 1.00 for the first time all season (albeit, his 1.06 mark is still best in the majors among pitchers with 60 innings). AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

What it means

While the Dodgers are still 19-7 since May 13, they are also only 6-5 in their last 11 games. And four times in that span, poor bullpen pitching has been to blame.

There were the two losses charged to Tanner Scott against the Phillies and Dbacks a couple weeks ago. There was Sunday’s all-around blunder against the Angels this past weekend. And now, with Wednesday’s defeat representing the team’s biggest collapse yet, the concern level is starting to rise with the Dodgers’ relief corps –– a unit that only last month set a franchise record with a 38-inning scoreless streak, but is now struggling to avoid walks and limit damage.

“Hitting is hard,” Roberts said. “[But] When you give away free bases, it just makes it a little easier. That’s something we’ve got to get back to attacking the strike zone.”

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Who’s hot

It was not Ohtani’s best night, but he was still the Dodgers’ best player.

Technically, he turned in a quality start of 6 ⅔ innings and three earned runs (his fourth run was unearned, as it came on Muncy’s error).

His homer in the ninth, meanwhile, continued his recent tear at the plate, leaving him just one point back of the Washington Nationals’ James Wood for the best OPS in the National League at .940.

If only Reynolds hadn’t robbed him earlier in the evening, on an acrobatic catch that saw him lean halfway over the short wall in left field, it might have been enough to salvage the game.

“I thought it was gonna be a homer,” Ohtani said. “But the left fielder made a fantastic catch. Gotta tip my cap on that one.”

In the eighth, Kyle Hurt then became the night’s biggest culprit, walking his first two batters before giving up a three-run, go-ahead blast to Pirates youngster Tyler Callihan. Getty Images

Who’s not

Hurt had started this season promisingly, giving up just one run in his first 15 outings after returning from a 2024 Tommy John surgery and being called up from triple-A in mid-April.

The last several weeks, however, have been a nightmare for the 28-year-old and once highly-touted prospect.

In his last seven appearances, the right-hander has given up nine home runs, issued five walks, and seen his ERA balloon from 0.60 to 4.22 on the season.

On Wednesday, he bemoaned his lack of command, noting he “fell behind every single hitter” and “didn’t throw one first-pitch strike” outside of the changeup that Callihan walloped for the go-ahead homer.

“Just didn’t execute,” Hurt said. “I had some guys, 3-2, I didn’t execute there either. Just missing a little bit, let a few go, sped up a little bit. There’s always tomorrow, so just ready to get back at it.”

He isn’t alone, either. Over the last two weeks, he is one of a whopping six Dodgers relievers with an ERA over 4.90.

Up next

The Dodgers will try to take the rubber match of this three-game series on Thursday, when Justin Wrobleski (7-2, 2.62 ERA) faces Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller (5-3, 4.81 ERA).