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The stakes will be even higher for the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend after their short bus ride up Interstate 5 to Los Angeles late Thursday night following a series win against the Los Angeles Angels.

After just missing out on a three-game sweep in Orange County, the Pirates will face the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game set that starts Friday night.

The series will kick off with a must-see pitching matchup between Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes (2-2, 2.87 ERA) and Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-1, 0.93).

Skenes will take the mound again in the area where he was born and raised, but he actually grew up in Angels territory and rooted for that team in his youth. Just walking on the Angel Stadium outfield grass in recent days and having a short chat with superstar Mike Trout was a thrill for Skenes.

“One of those things that you can’t forget how cool it is, what we’re doing,” Skenes said about being in Angel Stadium as a major leaguer.

Asked Thursday about the chance to face the Dodgers, Pirates manager Derek Shelton said he didn’t want to overlook the series finale against the Angels, and with good reason. After commanding the first two games of the series, the Pirates gave up a late run Thursday and fell 4-3 in the finale.

“(Friday) we get arguably the best team in baseball, the defending world champions, and we just have to go out there and execute,” Shelton said. “Excited to watch it. It’s always fun to go to Dodger Stadium and always fun to play against the best.”

Skenes had two starts against the Dodgers in his rookie season of 2024, going 1-1 with a 5.73 ERA over 11 innings. In his lone start at Los Angeles on Aug. 10, he was tagged for four runs on six hits in six innings of his second career loss.

Yamamoto is showing the Dodgers his full potential this season and has been at his best of late with consecutive scoreless outings against the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers. He has 10 strikeouts in two of his five starts this season, including his most recent outing last Friday at Texas, when he pitched seven innings, giving up five hits in a 3-0 victory.

After that Yamamoto outing, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts seemed to be looking to this Friday’s pitching showdown with the Pirates.

“There’s a lot of time, but I do think that right now, (Yamamoto) is the best pitcher in the National League,” Roberts told reporters. “Now, (Paul) Skenes is pretty good too, so no disrespect.”

Yamamoto will face the Pirates for the first time.

The Dodgers will need their Opening Day starter to be at his best in order to break out of a funk that has them lose three of their last four games. Included in those contests were both games of a short road series against the Chicago Cubs, when the Dodgers’ pitching staff allowed 18 runs.

The Los Angeles offense scored 16 runs in the two games, but the team still lost a pair of one-run decisions.

“We’re just not pitching the way we’re capable of,” Roberts said. “I think we’re walking a lot of guys, giving free bases and having to be perfect to get out of jams. The pitch count with a lot of guys is up. And just giving guys opportunities.”

The Dodgers have won the season series against the Pirates six times in the last seven years and went 4-2 in the matchup in 2024.

–Field Level Media