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Pittsburgh Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes will get his first chance to pitch near home when he faces the host Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

The closest Skenes has pitched this season to nearby Orange County, where he grew up, was at Houston on July 29, when he gave up two runs (one earned) over six innings. On Sunday, Skenes (6-1, 1.99 ERA) allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He has permitted two runs or fewer in 12 of the first 14 starts of his career.

One of the two outings in which he gave up three runs came on June 5 at home against the Dodgers, when he tossed five innings. The six hits he yielded that day matched a season high. Even though Skenes served up home runs in that game to the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages, he still ended the night with a win, the third of his career.

The National League’s starter in last month’s All-Star Game, Skenes has 107 strikeouts in 86 innings.

Typically pinpoint with his control, Skenes has walked a season-high three batters in each of his past two starts, and he threw 100 pitches on Sunday in his shortest outing since June 5.

“It’s the first time we’ve really seen him scatter the ball a little bit,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.

The Dodgers will counter with their own rookie, River Ryan (1-0, 1.72). The right-hander has far less experience than Skenes, with just three starts to his credit since his July 22 debut.

In his most recent outing, on Sunday at Oakland, Ryan gave up two runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings and had four strikeouts. He has walked three batters in all three of his starts.

Ryan, who will be facing Pittsburgh for the first time, would appreciate the kind of run support the Dodgers supplied Friday in a 9-5 victory over the Pirates. Freddie Freeman, Ohtani and Enrique Hernandez hit home runs. Ohtani’s 448-foot blast increased his National League-leading total to 35 homers.

Yet even while winning four of their past six games, the Dodgers are having a tough time holding off two hard-charging division rivals. The San Diego Padres, who are riding a six-game winning streak, are 2 1/2 games back, and Arizona Diamondbacks, who are 15-5 since the All-Star break, trail by 3 1/2 games. Los Angeles was up by 8 1/2 games on July 23.

“We’re very aware of it,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I’d be lying if I said nobody is watching the scoreboard and appreciating how good the rest of the teams in our division are playing. It just puts the onus on us to play good baseball.”

Freeman has hits in all four games he has played since missing eight contests to be alongside his 3-year-old son, who was recovering from a health scare.

“I didn’t know how I would be doing after a 10-day layoff from live pitching, but I’ve actually been feeling all right at the plate,” Freeman said on SportsNet LA. “It’s just nice to hit the ball hard.”

Not only did Dodgers right-hander Jack Flaherty record 10 strikeouts in his home debut with his new club on Friday, but the staff combined for 16 strikeouts on the night.

The Dodgers won the opener of the series after the Pirates won two of three between the teams at Pittsburgh in early June.

–Field Level Media