LOS ANGELES -- After Yoshinobu Yamamoto set the table with another strong start, Tommy Edman sent the Dodgers home with a sweet ending.
Coming off a three-game sweep of the Rockies on the road, the Dodgers kept the good times rolling upon their return to Dodger Stadium. Yamamoto tossed 6 1/3 strong innings before Edman came through in the clutch to walk off the Pirates, 5-4, in the 10th in Friday night's series opener.
"I just wanted to maintain the momentum, which started in Colorado," Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda.
The Dodgers are 5-0 in extra innings this season. As a cherry on top, Edman was using an ice cream-inspired bat in honor of his son, Eli, for Players' Weekend.
"It’s cool that I came through with the walk-off hit today," Edman said. "Our favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip, so it’s kind of a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone. It was fun to be able to use that today."
Yamamoto struck out nine batters for the second time in as many starts. He allowed two runs -- both knocked in by the Pirates' Nick Gonzales -- on five hits and a walk. He left two runners on when his outing came to an end in the seventh inning, and right-hander Brock Stewart stranded them both.
The Dodgers leaned on Yamamoto for 107 pitches, two shy of the right-hander's season high. It marked the 12th time in 23 starts that Yamamoto has met or exceeded the century mark in pitches this season. His performance has resulted in him getting a longer and longer leash as time goes on, as he threw 100 or more pitches 10 times in the regular season last year.
"Every time he goes out there, he gives us a really good chance to win," Edman said. "We did that today. Obviously, he didn't get the win, I'm sure he deserved it. But it seems like every time he pitches, you know, just you know what you're going to get."
Yamamoto exited with a two-run lead, but the Dodgers' advantage slipped away when right-hander Kyle Hurt -- pitching in leverage because the team wanted to stay away from some of its highly used relievers -- surrendered a game-tying blast to Oneil Cruz in the top of the eighth inning. L.A.'s offense plated four runs through the first three innings, then went quiet through the bottom of the ninth.
After righty Evan Phillips induced a double play to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the 10th, the Dodgers did just enough to scratch a run across in the bottom of the frame. With two outs and runners on the corners, Edman smacked an 0-2 sweeper from left-hander Gregory Soto into left field to open the weekend homestand with a win.
"Our guys just fight," manager Dave Roberts said. "Even when we gave up the lead, we didn't get down. And Tommy came up with an 0-2 base hit to win the game. We were short on pitching, so we needed that one.”