Blake Snell sharp as Dodgers sweep Pirates for 6th straight win

LOS ANGELES – Blake Snell continues to master the art of the late-season return.

In his third start since returning from a procedure to remove loose bodies from his left elbow, Snell had his finest outing of the bunch, leading the charge in a 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday that extended the Dodgers’ winning streak to six games.

Snell gave up two hits over six scoreless innings as he tries to replicate the timeline he followed last season when he returned in early August and had a pair of scoreless outings in his first three starts.

Snell (2-1) went on to go 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA in six postseason appearances and even came on for a key 1⅓ innings of scoreless relief in the victory in Game 7 of the World Series.

This year’s playoffs are more than a month away with Snell looking more than ready to handle one of the team’s four rotation spots in October.

The Dodgers’ run of 10 victories in 13 games since Aug. 10, to distance themselves from some early-August struggles, is nearly identical to Snell’s return timeline. The left-hander came back on Aug. 11 to deliver 10 strikeouts against the Kansas City Royals, then gave up two hits over six innings at Colorado on Monday.

His 94-pitch outing was the longest of his return as he struck out six with three walks against the Pirates.

A Dodgers offense missing both Andy Pages and Will Smith saw their injury replacements come through Sunday. Alek Thomas and Hunter Feduccia had back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth inning as the Dodgers began to take control for their first six-game win streak since May 23-29.

Thomas was acquired in May but was playing just his second game with the Dodgers after Pages came away from Friday’s series opener against the Pirates with a broken left hand.

Feduccia, who returned to the Dodgers in a trade-deadline deal, drove in his second run in the 16th game of his current stint with the club.

The Dodgers’ stars also delivered. Shohei Ohtani singled in the first inning and stole second base before scoring on a double-play grounder by Mookie Betts for a 1-0 lead.

After Thomas and Feduccia gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning, a Max Muncy ground out in the fifth scored Freddie Freeman to make it 4-0.

After driving in a pair of runs Saturday, Kyle Tucker made his presence known Sunday with a walk, a single and a run scored.

Snell was as competitive as ever throughout, even engaging with home-plate umpire Mike Estabrook for an extended discussion after the top of the third inning.

Snell was just the most recent addition to a rotation that is starting to align with the front office’s offseason vision. Right-hander Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to return from a back injury on Tuesday at Atlanta. Shohei Ohtani could be back on the next homestand, marking his first time on the mound since July 3 after dealing with left knee discomfort.

Even the bullpen, which contributed three scoreless innings Sunday, could get a boost soon with closer Edwin Diaz saying his neck soreness is much improved and mechanical changes with his delivery have delivered promising results.

Edgardo Henriquez, Brock Stewart and Alex Vesia combined to not give up a hit over three scoreless innings.