6-4-24 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
If there is a David vs. Goliath in MLB, it’s whenever the Pirates and Dodgers face off as the Pirates have won 8 of the last 13 games against LA. Adding the reigning AL MVP in Shohei Ohtani to a lineup that includes former MVPs in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman makes a dangerous lineup even more menacing and the additions of Tyler Glasnow and Yoshi Yamamoto to the rotation have further ingrained the Dodgers as the team to beat this season.
6/4
Dodgers – Tyler Glasnow (R/R) – 6-3, 74 IP, 3.04 ERA, 95 Ks/21 walks, 0.91 WHIP
Pirates – Jared Jones (R/R) – 3-5, 63.1 IP, 3.55 ERA, 70 Ks/12 walks, 1.01 WHIP
6/5
Dodgers – James Paxton (L/L) – 5-0, 52 IP, 3.29 ERA, 31 Ks/28 walks, 1.38 WHIP
Pirates – Paul Skenes (R/R) – 2-0, 22 IP, 2.45 ERA, 30 Ks/5 walks, 0.91 WHIP
6/6
Dodgers – Walker Buehler (R/R) – 1-1. 25 IP, 4.32 ERA, 24 Ks/7 walks, 1.32 WHIP
Pirates – Bailey Falter (L/R) –3-2, 64.1 IP, 3.22 ERA, 38 Ks/16 walks, 0.95 WHIP
Dodgers:
Freddie Freeman: I mean, throw a dart at that Dodgers lineup and you’re bound to hit someone who is among the best in baseball at any given point in time. Freeman continues to prove that age is just a number as he has a 1.291 OPS over the past week of games, with a .877 mark on the season.
Pirates:
Nick Gonzales: Nicky G has been everything we hoped from him and more. In his 21 games since his promotion back to the Bucs, he has a .308/.360/.500 triple slash while leading the team in RBI (16) during this hot stretch. Eventually, he’ll cool off but this has been fun seeing that Mike Trout swing put up some Mike Trout numbers.
Dodgers:
Shohei Ohtani: Over his past 15 games, Ohtani has slashed .193/.270/.351 with just a pair of home runs. Prior to that, he was running a .364/.431/.676 line and slugged 12 long balls in his first 198 plate appearances so this has definitely been a drop in production for the Japanese Base Ruth.
Pirates:
Michael A. Taylor: It’s an open secret that the Pirates didn’t sign Taylor for his bat. Despite swatting 21 home runs, he’s historically been a glove-first center fielder and, while he currently has one of the best defensive numbers among all position players in MLB, his offense has never been worse. Since his strong start to the season, Taylor is hitting .129 with just 2 extra base hits since April 5th and has a somehow worse .074/.133/.111 line since May 14 as he’s playing his way out of regular playing time.
Key Injuries
Dodgers:
Bobby Miller: It’s hard to say this rotation can be better than it already is but Miller – who was 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA in 22 games last season – is currently rehabbing and, although he won’t return during this series, he will eventually help to deepen this already strong rotational group.
Pirates:
Alika Williams: The hit tool he showed during his stint with Indy last year (.915 OPS in 36 games) hasn’t quite translated to the major leagues but he’s still a great late-innings defensive replacement and that’s an important role – especially with how often this bullpen has struggled this year.
Who To Watch
Henry Davis is returning to the Pirates after spending 23 games back with Indianapolis and posting a 1.078 OPS with 7 doubles and 7 home runs. He could make history if he starts as the backstop on Wednesday as the pairing with Paul Skenes would make the first 1:1 draft battery in MLB history.
Let’s Go Bucs!
Steel City Pirates 