Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

It’s a busy day in Major League Baseball with one of the most exciting games taking place in Southern California where the Los Angeles Dodgers host the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium.

There are a pair of rookies on the mound with Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes making his first career start in Los Angeles, where he will be countered by River Ryan, a highly regarded prospect for the Dodgers.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers betting picks and predictions

Pittsburgh Pirates ML (-105)

It’s been a historic rookie season for Paul Skenes. In the span of about 13 months, Skenes won a National Championship at LSU, was selected with the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, and then named the starter for the National League in his first All-Star Game after appearing in just 11 games.

Skenes has lived up to all expectations and more considering he has a 1.99 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in his first 14 career starts. His command is phenomenal since he’s striking out over 32% of the hitters and walking less than the MLB average, so he’s been pressing all the right buttons so far.

Plus, his sub-2 ERA isn’t a fluke as he has limited hitters to just a .199 expected batting average. His high-velocity fastball mixed with his splitter and sweeper have made him one of the most dangerous pitchers in the league.

Although the Dodgers have a few stars at the top of their order, Skenes has proved he’s ready to take on anyone. 

The Dodgers rotation has been a train wreck in 2024. They came into the season without Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Walker Buehler, or Clayton Kershaw, but it was okay since they had plenty of new arms.

However, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Emmet Sheehan are both hurt and Tyler Glasnow was out for several weeks in July with a sore back.

That led for River Ryan, the Dodgers #4 prospect, getting his first shot in the big leagues. Ryan has allowed four runs, 11 hits, and 14 strikeouts in three starts against the Giants, Astros, and Athletics. His problem lies with his control since he’s also allowed nine walks which equals a walk rate near 15%.

If the Pirates can stay patient at the plate and let Ryan give them baserunners, they won’t need more than a few runs to support Skenes. At a near-even price, take the Pirates with Skenes on the mound. 

Under 8.0 (-115)

This won’t be Skenes’ first time facing the Dodgers in his young career. Los Angeles went to Pittsburgh for a series in early June and matched up against Skenes in one of the games, and the right-hander was pumping triple-digits throughout the game.

He put together a decent outing, but it wasn’t on par with what we’ve come to expect from Skenes. He surrendered three runs and six hits with eight strikeouts in five innings.

A pair of home runs ruined his start, including a Shohei Ohtani blast which seemed inevitable.

Since that game, Skenes has allowed two earned runs or less in nine consecutive outings. The rookie has held hitters to a .175 xBA and just a 33% hard-hit rate since the break, so it appears Skenes has only been getting stronger throughout the season.

Friday night’s game - won 9-5 by the Dodgers - turned into a softball score quickly because Mitch Keller struggled to locate. Fortunately for Pittsburgh, they used Domingo German as a long reliever and rested the entire bullpen. That’s going to be incredibly important for tonight’s game since Skenes will likely go five or six innings, leaving three or four innings of work for the Pittsburgh bullpen.

If the game is close, expect to see Kyle Nicolas and Aroldis Chapman first out of the pen before David Bednar comes in.

As for the Dodgers, all of their high-leverage relievers are well rested. That means we should expect to see Michael Kopech, Joe Kelly, and Alex Vesia after Ryan. Side with the under in this battle of rookie pitchers.

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Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers odds

Pittsburgh Pirates	-105
Los Angeles Dodgers	-115
Run Line	PIT Pirates -1.5
Total	O/U 8.0

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers player props

Player Home Run Odds

Bryan Reynolds (PIT Pirates)	+450
Oneil Cruz (PIT Pirates)	+350
Andrew McCutchen (PIT Pirates)	+550
Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers)	+260
Freddie Freeman (LA Dodgers)	+600
Teoscar Hernandez (LA Dodgers)	+600

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.