Yoshinobu Yamamoto is back on the mound for the Dodgers tonight, opening a three-game set against the Pirates at Chavez Ravine after turning in one of his best stretches of the season. He is making his fourth start in August, and the timing matters because Los Angeles has just returned home from a three-game sweep of the Rockies in Colorado.
Yamamoto’s August line is the kind that changes a series before the first pitch. He posted a 1.83 ERA in 19 2/3 innings, struck out 18 batters and walked six, and he carries a 2.60 ERA that is fifth lowest in the National League. In his last start, he allowed one run over six innings against the Brewers and struck out nine, a sharp follow-up to the kind of outing the Dodgers have wanted from him all summer.
The Pirates are sending Bubba Chandler against him, and the contrast is plain enough. Chandler is 6-8 with a 4.23 ERA this season, while Pittsburgh sits fourth in the NL Central and three games below.500. But the record does not tell the whole story. The Pirates have the most hits in MLB and the third most runs, which is why this lineup can look far more dangerous than its place in the standings suggests.
That is where the night gets interesting for Los Angeles. Yamamoto already saw Pittsburgh once before, in April of 2025, and took a 3-0 loss. The Dodgers did not need that reminder to understand what is in front of them, but they have one anyway: a Pirates club that does not have the wins to match its production, and a starter who has been far tougher to hit in August than his season record might indicate. Oneil Cruz is back after missing time since the beginning of June with a left hand fracture, and his return gives Pittsburgh another bat in a lineup that has found ways to create damage even while sitting in fourth place.
For the Dodgers, the series begins with a chance to keep the momentum from Colorado and carry Yamamoto’s form into another home test. For the Pirates, it starts with a chance to turn those hits and runs into something more than a number.
