Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Dodgers: Final Score & Recap

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-5 on August 9, 2024, at Dodger Stadium, with the DiamondIQ model's estimate moving from a 63 percent pre-game home win probability to a final 100 percent as Los Angeles built an insurmountable advantage through five innings. Pittsburgh managed 11 hits against just 8 for the Dodgers, but the quality and timing of Los Angeles's damage proved decisive.

The game turned decisively in the bottom of the third inning, where the Dodgers scored five runs to seize control. The single biggest play of the night came when Shohei Ohtani connected for a home run off Mitch Keller, a swing that shifted win probability by 15.9 percentage points and stood as the largest win-probability swing of the contest. Will Smith followed with a single off Keller that added another 5.9 percentage points, deepening Pittsburgh's hole in that pivotal frame. Pittsburgh had briefly shown life in the top of the third when Michael A. Taylor doubled off Jack Flaherty for a 4.4-point swing, but the Pirates failed to convert that opportunity into runs. The fifth inning produced the game's next two significant plays in opposite directions: Joey Bart hit a home run off Jack Flaherty in the top half, adding 11.0 percentage points for Pittsburgh, before Enrique Hernández answered with a solo shot off Domingo Germán in the bottom half to push back with a 9.7-point swing for Los Angeles.

When measured by final WPA totals, Ohtani led all players at plus-14.7 percent with a RE24 of plus-1.0, while Bart finished at plus-10.5 percent and a RE24 of plus-1.7 despite being on the losing side. Hernández rounded out the top three at plus-8.2 percent and a RE24 of plus-1.3. On the mound, the Dodgers bullpen closed out the game cleanly, with Anthony Banda contributing the most among pitchers at plus-2.4 percent WPA.