Venue: Dodger Stadium — Los Angeles, CA Scheduled
First Pitch: 6:10 PM PT / 9:10 PM ET
Television: SportsNet LA / AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh / MLB.TV**
Weather Forecast — Los Angeles, CA
Dodger Stadium is outdoors and heavily influenced by evening marine air.
Temperature: 78°F at first pitch
Wind: 8 mph blowing out to left‑center
Humidity: 54%
Rain Chance: 0% Conditions: Slightly hitter‑friendly, especially for right‑handed pull hitters.
Warm air + slight breeze → boosted carry for balls hit to left.
Injury Report
Pittsburgh Pirates
Oneil Cruz — OUT (ankle)
Ke’Bryan Hayes — OUT (back)
David Bednar — OUT (shoulder)
Rowdy Tellez — OUT (hamstring)
Luis Ortiz — OUT (elbow)
Henry Davis — Day‑to‑day (thumb)
Los Angeles Dodgers
Walker Buehler — OUT (forearm)
Clayton Kershaw — OUT (shoulder)
Gavin Lux — OUT (knee)
Jason Heyward — OUT (hip)
Diego Cartaya — Day‑to‑day (wrist)
Mookie Betts — healthy
Freddie Freeman — healthy
Dodgers are missing rotation depth but retain their elite offensive core. Pirates are missing multiple key bats and their closer.
Starting Pitching Matchup
PIT — RHP Jared Jones
(2026 Season: 8–10, 3.91 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) Jones has been Pittsburgh’s breakout ace.
Strengths:
Elite fastball velocity
High strikeout rate
Strong command vs right‑handed hitters
Road ERA: 3.62
Weaknesses:
Occasional HR issues
Dodgers rank 3rd in MLB vs high‑velocity fastballs
Vulnerable when forced into slider counts
Dodgers vs Jones profile:
Betts: .302 vs high‑velo fastballs
Freeman: .333 vs RHP sliders
Smith: .511 SLG vs RHP
LAD — LHP Tarik Skubal
(2026 Season: 13–6, 2.89 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) Skubal has been one of MLB’s best lefties.
Strengths:
Elite fastball/changeup combo
Dominates right‑handed hitters
Excellent home splits (2.55 ERA at Dodger Stadium)
Pirates rank 28th in MLB vs LHP
Weaknesses:
Occasional command lapses early
Pirates’ best hitters (Suwinski, Reynolds) feast on elevated fastballs
Pirates vs Skubal profile:
Reynolds: .302 vs LHP fastballs
Suwinski: .540 SLG vs elevated heaters
Davis: inconsistent vs LHP
Key Player Matchups
Mookie Betts vs Jared Jones
Betts crushes high‑velocity fastballs
Jones relies heavily on his heater Edge: Betts
Bryan Reynolds vs Tarik Skubal
Reynolds handles lefties well
Skubal dominates right‑handed hitters overall Edge: Slightly Skubal
Freddie Freeman vs Pirates Bullpen
Pirates bullpen ERA: 4.78
Freeman thrives vs middle relief Edge: Freeman
Will Smith vs Jones
Smith’s elite fastball hitting vs Jones’ velocity Edge: Smith
Recent Team Form
Pittsburgh Pirates — Last 10 Games: 5–5
Offense averaging 4.2 runs/game
Bullpen struggling without Bednar
Road record: 27–39
Reynolds heating up (12 hits last 7 games)
Los Angeles Dodgers — Last 10 Games: 7–3
Offense averaging 5.4 runs/game
Skubal stabilizing rotation
Home record: 42–23
Betts + Freeman surging
Dodgers enter significantly hotter and more stable.
Series History
2026 Season Series
Dodgers lead 3–1
Dodgers have outscored Pirates 21–12
Skubal vs PIT earlier: 7 IP, 1 ER, 9 K
Jones vs LAD earlier: 5 IP, 3 ER, 2 HR allowed
At Dodger Stadium (Last 3 Years)
Dodgers lead 10–4
Average total runs: 8.1
Dodgers HR rate spikes vs high‑velo pitchers
Betting Trends
Pittsburgh Pirates
3–7 in last 10 road games
2–5 in Jones’ last 7 starts
Under is 6–3 in last 9 Pirates games
Los Angeles Dodgers
8–3 in last 11 home games
6–1 in Skubal’s last 7 starts
Dodgers ML has hit in 72% of games as home favorites
Head‑to‑Head Trends
Dodgers have won 7 of last 9
Over has hit in 6 of last 10
Game Odds
Pittsburgh Pirates 8
Los Angeles Dodgers – 245
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Friday, August 21, 2026
