Dodgers Announce Starting Pitchers for Series vs Playoff-Hopeful Pirates

The Los Angeles Dodgers are back home after a quick three-game road trip where they swept the Colorado Rockies and are welcoming the Pittsburgh Pirates into UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers (77-51) are nine games up on the San Diego Padres in the National League West and two games back of the Milwaukee Brewers for the No. 1 seed in the NL.

The Pirates (63-66) are fighting to stay alive in the NL wild-card race after buying at the trade deadline. They're 5.5 games back of the Padres for the final spot.

The Dodgers and Pirates played a three-game series in Pittsburgh from June 9-11, with LA winning two games.

Dodgers vs Pirates Pitching Probables

Friday, Aug. 21: RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. RHP Bubba Chandler

Yamamoto takes the ball in the series opener for the Dodgers looking to continue his dominant second half.

In five second-half starts, Yamamoto is 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA and 30 strikeouts over 34.2 innings. Overall this season, he has a 2.60 ERA over 22 starts (145.1 innings).

As for Chandler, he owns a 4.23 ERA across 121.1 innings this season with 108 strikeouts to 64 walks.

He's been much better in the second half, though, going 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA over five starts (27 innings).

Saturday, Aug. 22: LHP Tarik Skubal vs. RHP Jared Jones

Skubal makes his fourth start as a Dodger on Saturday still looking for a dominant performance.

The left-hander has a 3.18 ERA and 19 strikeouts over 17 innings thus far for LA. He's made it known that his inability to go deep into games is not acceptable for his standards.

“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.”

As for Jones, he's made 14 starts this season, sporting a 4.78 ERA over 64 innings with 72 strikeouts to 21 walks.

He faced the Dodgers on June 10, allowing two runs over four innings with four strikeouts in just his third start this season as he returned from elbow surgery that wiped out his entire 2025 campaign.

Sunday, Aug. 23: LHP Blake Snell vs. TBA

Speaking of elbow surgery, Snell pitches the series finale for the Dodgers in his third start since returning from a procedure to remove loose bodies in his elbow.

Snell has been dominant since coming back, allowing just two runs over 12 innings with 15 strikeouts.

The Pirates' starter for Sunday's game is yet to be announced.

How to Watch Dodgers vs Pirates August 21-23

First pitch for Friday's series opener is 7:10 p.m. PT/10:10 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on SportsNet LA and in the MLB app.

First pitch for Saturday's game is 4:15 p.m. PT/7:15 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FOX.

First pitch for Sunday's series finale is 1:10 p.m. PT/4:10 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on SportsNet LA and in the MLB app.

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