Three Takeaways: Pirates' Playoff Hopes Fall Against Dodgers
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates needed a great showing against a great Los Angeles Dodgers team and simply didn't do that at all.
The Pirates suffered a series sweep to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, losing 5-4 in extra innings in the series opener on Aug. 21, 4-3 in the second game on Aug. 22 and then getting shutout 4-0 in the series finale on Aug. 23.
Pittsburgh has been awful at Dodger Stadium as of late, with 22 losses in their past 28 games there, and they looked much of the same in this series.
The Pirates struggled with many of the same issues they have all season against the Dodgers and missed a great chance to get a big series win over one of the better teams in baseball.
Starting Pitching Doesn't Come Through When Needed
The Pirates needed some strong outings from their starting pitching against a Dodgers lineup that is one of the best in MLB.
Pittsburgh didn't get that, as they combined for seven earned runs over 10 innings and didn't have the starts the team really needed in order to overcome a great offensive Los Angeles squad.
Bubba Chandler gave up four runs over four innings in the series opener, including a two-run home run to Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, and Jared Jones issued a career-high five walks and allowed two runs over four innings in the second game.
The Pirates went with a bullpen game in the series finale, having Lake Bachar throw two innings and then Carmen Mlodzinski following for the next three innings.
Bachar gave up one run over those two innings, while Mlodzinski gave up three runs over the next three innings, putting the Dodgers up 4-0.
The only Pirates pitcher that really impressed, outside of the bullpen arms, was rookie right-hander Khristian Curtis, who threw three scoreless innings and showed that his MLB debut vs. the Cleveland Guardians wasn't a fluke.
Chandler and Jones struggled with command and the Dodgers ran up the pitch count early and quickly, forcing the Pirates to go to their bullpen for 9.2 innings in the first two games.
Mlodzinski had a chance to right his wrongs after faltering in his past three starts, but still struggled with giving up hits and not pitching clean innings, giving the Dodgers a lead that the Pirates never threatened.
Pirates Still Can't Hit Left-Handed Pitching
The Pirates have struggled against left-handed pitching all season and this series was the greatest example of those problems.
Pittsburgh faced two of the better left-handed starting pitchers in the game, with the two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner in Tarik Skubal in the second game and then a two-time Cy Young Award winner in Blake Snell in the series finale.
The Pirates actually got after Skubal early, scoring three runs off him in the first inning, with a two-run triple from center fielder Oneil Cruz.
Skubal then settled in, as he allowed just two hits and a walk and struck out 11 batters over the next six innings, allowing the Dodgers to come back and win 4-3.
Snell had no trouble with the Pirates at all, allowing just two hits and issuing three walks, while posting six strikeouts over six scoreless innings.
The Pirates came into this series with two wins out of three games against southpaw starters, as they found ways to hit off them and score runs consistently.
Pittsburgh showed that they haven't quite figured out left-handed pitching and fall to 12-29 and 4-12 in the second half against lefty starters in 2026.
Postseason Hopes Coming to a Close
The Pirates had great expectations for the 2026 season, with team president Travis Williams declaring their desire to make the postseason, 'Period, full stop,'
It appears that those goals were too lofty, as the Pirates fall to 63-69 overall after this series sweep to the Dodgers and 8.5 games back in the National League Wild Card race.
The Pirates have just 30 games remaining, and unless they go on some ridiculous run, winning at least 23 of those contests, they won't make the postseason and may even need more than that.
It's disappointing for the Pirates, who have had a great offense for the most part and were in the third spot of the NL Wild Card race just three weeks ago, but a poor second half of 2026 doomed them, falling to 13-22 in that time.
The Pirates have a long offseason ahead of them, but still have more than a month of games where they can figure out who is worth keeping around for next season and actually making a real run at the playoffs in 2027.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.