PITTSBURGH — It rained most of the morning then on and off Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh. About two hours before game time, though, the rain stopped and the tarp came off at PNC Park.

The clouds over the Dodgers never parted.

Dominated by pitchers with 5.00 ERAs in recent series (Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes in San Diego, Zac Gallen and Eduardo Rodriguez with Arizona), the Dodgers weren’t ready for the higher degree of difficulty presented by Cy Young Award contender Paul Skenes. They managed just two hits in six innings against him and were shut out into the ninth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat them for the third straight night, 5-3.

The sweep at PNC Park was only the Pirates’ second over the Dodgers since the stadium opened in 2011 (they also swept a series in August 2015).

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