Pirates' Bailey Falter: Hit hard by Dodgers

Falter (3-3) took the loss Thursday against the Dodgers, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks across four innings. He struck out six.

Falter's start began and ended poorly, as he yielded four runs in the first inning --including a three-run home run by Freddie Freeman -- before getting pulled after allowing a solo homer to Teoscar Hernandez to lead off the fifth. The outing marked Falter's first time allowing more than three runs since April 29 and snapped a streak of four straight quality starts. Through 68.1 innings, Falter owns a 3.69 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He's lined up to face the Cardinals in St. Louis on Wednesday.