Cody Snavely
Los Angeles Dodgers (16-9) versus Pittsburgh Pirates (10-16)
LOS ANGELES— After going a measly 2-3 on their short five-game road trip, suffering a two-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers return to Dodger Stadium, hoping to get back on track.
To put it frankly, it was an odd road trip for the Dodgers. The team could only muster seven runs in the first three games against the Texas Rangers, winning the series after great starts by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, and Tyler Glasnow, despite the righty leaving early due to injury.
In the next two games, the Dodgers’ offense would explode, scoring sixteen runs at Wrigley Field, but the pitching would implode, allowing eighteen runs to the highest-scoring offense in the National League.
After throwing a bullpen game in the series finale in Chicago, the Dodgers will have successfully reset their starting rotation for this series, having the “big three” go for the series win against a struggling Pittsburgh Pirates team that has dropped five of their last ten games, but are coming off a series win over the Los Angeles Angels.
The Dodgers, however, are in the same boat, playing .500 ball over their last ten games. Their offense has been in a massive cold stretch since April 1st, ranking in the bottom half of the league in multiple categories.
Despite that, the Dodgers are still 16-9 to start the year, in third place in the fiercely competitive National League West, and are 10-2 at home.
Pitching match-ups
Game One: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-1, 0.93 ERA) vs Paul Skenes (2-2, 2.87 ERA)
Game Two: Roki Sasaki (0-1, 3.20 ERA) vs Mitch Keller (1-2, 4.18 ERA)
Game Three: Tyler Glasnow (1-0, 3.71 ERA) vs Bailey Falter (LHP) (1-2, 5.19 ERA)
Game Times
Game One: 7:10 PM PT, SportsNet LA, SportsNet-PIT, MLB Network (out-of-market)
Game Two: 6:10 PM PT, SportsNet LA, SportsNet-PIT
Game Three: 1:10 PM PT, SportsNet LA, SportsNet-PIT
Who’s in & who’s out?
Not much has changed on the injury front for the Dodgers entering this three-game weekend series against the Pirates.
Right-handed pitcher Tony Gonsolin likely finished his minor league rehab assignment, pitching into the sixth inning on his fourth rehab outing. Gonsolin, 30, is likely to be considered for a start in the upcoming series against the Miami Marlins.
Veteran lefty Clayton Kershaw also completed his second rehab outing with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers, tossing three innings on sixty pitches, but is still ineligible to rejoin the team until May 17th.
The big blow for the Dodgers, injury-wise, is news of lefty Blake Snell being shut down as he has continued to show discomfort in his throwing shoulder. Snell, 32, was set to throw a bullpen session in Chicago but had it canceled and underwent more imaging as the team returned to Los Angeles.
60-day Injured List (8): Clayton Kershaw, Brusdar Graterol, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Emmet Sheehan, Edgardo Henriquez
15-day Injured List (4): Michael Kopech, Tony Gonsolin, Blake Snell, Blake Treinen
The Pittsburgh Pirates are about as banged up as the Los Angeles Dodgers coming into this weekend’s series with nine players on the injured list, including some big names such as Jared Jones.
Right-handed pitcher Justin Lawrence was placed on the 15-day injured list prior to this series on April 23rd after feeling right elbow discomfort and is likely to be shut down for a while.
Lefty Tim Mayza is also expected to miss significant time after straining his left shoulder muscle and will not throw for six weeks and will be reevaluated after.
First baseman Spencer Horwitz has been sidelined the entire season after injuring his right wrist in spring training and will rejoin the team soon after being cleared for all baseball activities.
The most significant injury for the Pirates this season is to righty Jared Jones, who was shut down at the start of the season with a right UCL strain. The good thing is Jones won’t need surgery, but he will be sidelined for the first half of the season.
10-day Injured List (3): Spencer Horwitz, Nick Gonzales, Endy Rodríguez
15-day Injured List (2): Colin Holderman, Justin Lawrence
60-day Injured List (4): Johan Oviedo, Dauri Moreta, Jared Jones, Tim Mayza
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