The Dodgers are back at Dodger Stadium after a three-game road swing in Colorado, and the next test comes with the Pirates in town for a three-game set at UNIQLO Field.
Los Angeles enters the series at 77-51, sitting nine games ahead of the Padres in the National League West and two games behind the Brewers for the No. 1 seed in the NL. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, comes in at 63-66 and still hanging around the NL wild-card chase after buying at the trade deadline. The Pirates are 5.5 games back of San Diego for the final spot.
These clubs already met once this season. The Dodgers took two of three in Pittsburgh from June 9-11.
Friday’s opener features Yoshinobu Yamamoto against Bubba Chandler. Yamamoto has been rolling since the break, going 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA and 30 strikeouts across 34.2 innings in five second-half starts. For the season, he’s at a 2.60 ERA over 22 starts and 145.1 innings.
Chandler has logged a 4.23 ERA over 121.1 innings with 108 strikeouts and 64 walks, but his second half has looked much sharper. Over five starts and 27 innings, he’s 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA.
Saturday brings another big name to the mound for Los Angeles in left-hander Tarik Skubal, who makes his fourth start as a Dodger. He’s posted a 3.18 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 17 innings, though he’s made clear he wants to be more efficient after needing a career-high 109 pitches to get through six innings in his last outing.
“I need to be more efficient,” he said after his most recent start in which he threw a career-high 109 pitches over six innings. “That’s the standard that I hold myself to, is pitching deeper into ballgames and giving our team a chance to win every time out.”
Jared Jones gets the ball for Pittsburgh on Saturday. He’s made 14 starts this season and owns a 4.78 ERA over 64 innings with 72 strikeouts and 21 walks. Jones faced the Dodgers on June 10, giving up two runs over four innings with four strikeouts in just his third start of the year as he worked back from elbow surgery that wiped out his entire 2025 campaign.
Blake Snell closes the series for the Dodgers on Sunday in his third start since returning from a procedure to remove loose bodies in his elbow. He’s been sharp since coming back, allowing two runs over 12 innings with 15 strikeouts. Pittsburgh has not yet announced its starter for the finale.
Friday’s first pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. PT/10:10 p.m.
ET, with the game on SportsNet LA and the MLB app. Saturday starts at 4:15 p.m.
PT/7:15 p.m. ET on FOX, and Sunday’s finale begins at 1:10 p.m.
PT/4:10 p.m. ET on SportsNet LA and the MLB app.
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