The series finale of a three-game weekend series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers will take place on Sunday afternoon when the Pittsburgh Pirates travel to Los Angeles, California, to face the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium. The first pitch of Game 3 is scheduled for 4:10 PM ET and will air on SportsNet Los Angeles, SportsNet Pittsburgh, and the MLB Network.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are on a six-game losing streak following a 1-4 loss in Game 2 of their series on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which has dropped their record to 56-60, which puts them in 4th place in the NL Central and puts them five games behind the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.
Paul Skenes has had a phenomenal rookie season. However, he had his worst start of the season and failed to record a quality start in his second loss of the season. He pitched six innings, allowing four runs and recording eight strikeouts. The lone run for the Pirates was scored in the top of the 9th when Ke'Bryan Hayes hit a one-run home run.
Pittsburgh has lost the last three games in the series against Los Angeles and has been outscored by the Dodgers by an average of 4.33 to 8 runs per game in those matchups. The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to end their six-game losing streak and three-game losing streak in the series when they travel to face the Los Angeles Dodgers for Game 3.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have one of the best records in the National League and have won five of their last seven games while having outscored the opponents by an average of 5.29 to 3.71 runs per game in those contests following a 4-1 win at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 2 of their series on Saturday night which improved their record to 68-49 which puts them in 1st place in the NL West, the 2nd best record in the National League, only behind the Philadelphia Phillies, and a 2.5 game lead over the San Diego Padres for 1st place in the division.
River Ryan would have picked up the win; however, he suffered an injury and was pulled after pitching 4 ? innings of shutout baseball while recording four strikeouts, which resulted in a no-decision because he didn't go the five innings necessary to get the win. The Dodgers scored the first four runs of the game, including two runs in the third inning when Teoscar Hernandez and Nick Ahmed scored off a base hit from Gavin Lux.
The Dodgers have won three games in a row against the Pirates and six of the last ten while outscoring Pittsburgh by an average of 5.5 to 4.7 runs per game in those matchups. The Los Angeles Dodgers will look to complete the series sweep when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.
JustBet has the Los Angeles Dodgers listed as -270 moneyline favorites at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates for the Game 3 series on Sunday afternoon.
Los Angeles has won six of the last ten by an average margin of .8 runs per game, including three straight games in the series against Pittsburgh by an average margin of 3.67 runs per game.
Pittsburgh is on a six-game losing streak and has lost five of the last seven games against Los Angeles, losing by an average margin of 3.67 runs per game in the previous three games. The Dodgers have also won five of the last six home games in the series, so I am taking the run line for the Los Angeles Dodgers at -1.5 when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.
