LOS ANGELES — The chants of “MVP! MVP!” rose up from the sellout crowd as Max Muncy approached the plate. He had to stifle a smile at the noise.

Muncy slugged two homers and drove in five runs to highlight a power performance by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 9-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

Muncy received two MVP votes in 2019. He figures to rate much higher in the voting this season, with the left-handed slugger generating consistent offense while Cody Bellinger struggles and Mookie Betts is sidelined.

The Dodgers earned their sixth straight victory and moved within three games of the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants.

AJ Pollock and Corey Seager also homered as the Dodgers built a big lead early and cruised after outlasting the Pirates in a pair of low-scoring one-run games. Los Angeles beat Pittsburgh for the 16th straight time, extending its franchise record.

“When you get behind, and we don’t score a lot of runs anyway, it gets very frustrating,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.

The Pirates had three hits in losing their fifth in a row and 15th in 17 games.