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LOS ANGELES — The Pittsburgh Pirates are undecided on a starter for Wednesday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers Al Davis Jersey , and volunteers might be hard to come by.

The Dodgers’ offense is coming off a productive June when they hit 55 home runs, most in a calendar month in franchise history. And at the start of July, they look even better.

First the Dodgers crushed the Pirates on Monday to the tune of 17 runs and 21 hits. On Tuesday it was six home runs, including back-to-back homers from Joc Pederson and Max Muncy to lead off the game. Muncy went deep twice and has 20 on the season.

So with scheduled starter Joe Musgrove headed to the disabled list with a finger infection, the Pirates must send somebody else to the wolves.

Right-hander Clay Holmes (0-0, 2.25 ERA) is expected to make his first start of the season for Pittsburgh on Wednesday. He has pitched in two games for the Pirates this season, and he threw two hitless, scoreless innings in his most recent appearance June 24 against Arizona. He has never faced the Dodgers.

The Dodgers’ Rich Hill (1-3, 4.68) will make his fourth start since coming off the disabled list because of a blister on the middle finger of his left hand.

On Friday, Hill faced the Colorado Rockies and gave up one run on six hits over 6 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. He threw 110 pitches in that game, validating the series of laser treatments he received while out of action.

“I was really pleased with the consistency of the flight of the ball,” Hill said after his last outing, according to the Los Angeles Times. “The way the curveball came out of my hand, the consistency of that. Everything really came together tonight.”

Hill is 3-2 lifetime against the Pirates with a 3.25 ERA over nine starts, although he is a far different pitcher than the first time he squared off against them in 2006.

Holmes faces a major challenge against the Dodgers’ potent offense. When Matt Kemp went 5-for-5 with a homer on Monday, it gave him a hit in eight consecutive at-bats.

Also homering for the Dodgers on Tuesday were Yasmani Grandal, Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor.

The Dodgers’ run-scoring onslaught has left the Pirates reeling. Not only did the Pirates’ bullpen absorb five innings Monday, it was called on for three more innings Tuesday. Tuesday’s starter Fred Biletnikoff Jersey , Ivan Nova, allowed seven runs on nine hits in his five-plus innings.

“We’ve been a little short on the front end of things, which has provided some complications on the bullpen,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said, according to mlb.com.

The Dodgers will see their 10-game homestand come to an end Wednesday, but their Southern California stay is just beginning. Next up is a “road trip” to Anaheim and San Diego, before three more home games to close out the first half.

The Pirates are 2-3 on their six-game tour of Southern California, having faced the San Diego Padres before arriving in Los Angeles. They are 4-4 on their nine-game road trip, which also included a stop in New York to face the Mets.

Marc-Andre Fleury has been the foundation for the Vegas Golden Knights‘ run to the Stanley Cup Final.

Yet while he has a 1.68 goals-against average and .947 save percentage, he’ll be the first one in the locker room to credit the defensemen in front of him.

”It’s a team game – win as a team, lose as a team,” said Fleury, who looks to become the 11th goaltender in NHL history to have his name on the Cup at least four times – and the fourth of that group to win with multiple teams.

”These guys are a big part of our success. We’re well balanced, we got some veteran guys, some younger guys, got some offensive guys, some defensive guys playing together. Those guys have been rallying all playoffs, trying to help me out Wes Schweitzer Jersey , blocking shots and letting me see the puck, so it’s been a lot of fun.”

The pairings of Nate Schmidt and Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore and Deryk Engelland, and Colin Miller with Luca Sbisa or Jon Merrill, have helped the Golden Knights become a very tight defensive team during the playoffs, something that will have to carry into Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena, on Monday against the Washington Capitals.

Schmidt has developed into the team’s top defenseman after struggling to find consistent ice time in Washington last season, when he averaged 15:29 on the ice. The fifth-year pro leads the Golden Knights with an average 22:14 on the ice and brings a familiarity to the Final, having played with Washington’s top scorers Evgeny Kuznetsov (24 points) and Alex Ovechkin (22), who rank first and second, respectively, in overall playoff scoring.

”I know a lot of those guys, I know what they like to do,” said Schmidt, who has six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in the postseason. ”For what I want to do on the ice, it helps me and I think it helps our group as well that we’ve had success against them. But it’s a whole other type of animal this time of year.”

The Golden Knights swept the regular-season series against Washington, winning 3-0 on Dec. 23 in Vegas and 4-3 on Feb. 4 in D.C.

With five more Capitals have double-digit points – Nicklas Backstrom (16) Jarran Reed Jersey , John Carlson (16), T.J. Oshie (15), Lars Eller (13) and Tom Wilson (11) – Vegas will need one last big effort from a defensive group that has helped allow the second-least number of goals among playoff teams that have played 10 games.

Washington coach Barry Trotz said he knows the Golden Knights have three dynamic duos that each feature one offensive guy who can skate and move the puck – that being Miller, Theodore, and Schmidt – paired with more of a traditional stay-at-home defenseman who isn’t afraid to get physical, block shots and slow the opposing team’s pace – such as Sbisa, Engelland, Merrill and McNabb.

”But they still bring some offense, too,” Trotz said. ”They play 5-5-5 all three zones just as we talk about with the Capitals. Watch the TV, you see five guys in the picture, then you’re doing good.”

Schmidt said using speed against them worked during the regular season, by moving their feet more than Washington did, and helping to develop plays in transition. But again, this is the Stanley Cup Final, and Schmidt said he knows Washington can skate well and will be a challenge.

”I think another thing is just making sure you’re really disciplined against this team,” Schmidt said. ”You’ve got to make sure you stay out of the penalty box, keep Ovechkin off the power play and keep that unit off the power play.”

To Vegas’ credit Richard Sherman Jersey , however, it does have the fourth-best penalty kill in the playoffs, stopping 82.5 percent of the power plays it has seen. And, as Sbisa said, that circles back to Fleury and the chemistry that’s been built with the defensive pairings.

”That bond is definitely there,” Sbisa said. ”You don’t have to worry about anything else, play it loose, play to your strengths and that’s what we’ve been doing as a group. The six Ds that are playing that night, they’re tight; we play as a three-man group (with Fleury). Flower’s a guy that doesn’t take too much credit for himself, even though he should, because he’s been that good and it’s obviously nice to hear stuff like that coming out of his mouth. But he definitely deserves all the credit here.

”As a D-man, knowing that you have the best goalie in the world behind you, saving you when something happens, it makes a huge difference because it allows you to play your game. Praise has to go both ways.”

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