Pittsburgh’s 22-year-old ace from Orange County pitches 6⅓ innings with a season-high nine strikeouts and wins in the L.A. area for the first time, handing the Dodgers their fourth loss in five

Oneil Cruz led off the game against Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-2) with a walk and later stole second base. With two outs, Enmanuel Valdez singled to right field to plate Cruz and give the Pirates (11-16) a 1-0 lead.

Paul Skenes pitched 6 1/3 innings of five-hit ball with a season-high nine strikeouts, winning his duel with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-0 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.