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 struck out nine over 6 1/3 scoreless innings and the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates opened a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 3-0 victory on Friday.