Pittsburgh Pirates vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/22/2026

Game Time: 7:15 pm ET, Saturday, August 22, 2026

Venue:  Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

Where to Watch:  MLB TV, FOX

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +214, Dodgers -267; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +215, Dodgers -265; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Pirates +215, Dodgers -265; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Pittsburgh Pirates:  63-66 (4th place, NL Central)

Los Angeles Dodgers:  77-51 (1st place, NL West)

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Pittsburgh Pirates:  5-5 last 10

Los Angeles Dodgers:  7-3 last 10

The Pirates are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the Detroit Tigers 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 63-66 record overall and have a road record of 29-34. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Dodgers on Saturday with the series opener still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 4th in the MLB with a .744 OPS. Bubba Chandler is their starting pitcher on Friday while Jared Jones is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 2-5 with a 4.78 ERA this season. His team lost their last 5 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 1 ER, 1 HR, and 2 BB with 7 SO on 4 hits through 5 IP against the Boston Red Sox.

The Dodgers are entering this series off a win and completed the sweep in their 3-game series against the Colorado Rockies 3-0 in their last series. They enter this game with a 77-51 record overall and have a home record of 37-26. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Pirates on Saturday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 1st in the MLB with a .765 OPS. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is their starting pitcher on Friday while Tarik Skubal is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 7-7 with a 2.85 ERA this season. His team lost 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 earned run, 0 homers, and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts on 7 hits through 6 innings pitched against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The current betting odds have the Dodgers listed as a big favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Dodgers have looked great in their games this season with their 77-51 record overall which has them right at the top of the NL West with one of the best records in MLB. They have looked great in their own ballpark too with their 37-26 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Pirates haven't looked great in their games this season with their 63-66 record overall which has them right near the bottom of the NL Central. They haven't been a good road team either with their 29-34 road record this year. The Dodgers went through a slump after the trade deadline, but now they are 7-3 in their last 10 games and have been breaking out of it. The Pirates are coming off a series win over the Tigers, but they still haven't looked great lately, now 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Pirates do have one of the best offenses in the league along with the Dodgers, but the Dodgers are going to have the better pitching matchup in this one. The Dodgers are going with Skubal in this one and he has looked great this season. He is 7-7 with a 2.85 ERA and he hasn't been giving up many runs all year. He did have some trouble in his first start with the Dodgers and his team has lost 3 of their last 4 games with him starting, but he is coming off a great start in which he gave up 1 earned run and that has been a common theme for him all year. The Pirates are going with Jones in this one and he hasn't looked good this season. He is 2-5 with a 4.78 ERA and he has been giving up quite a few runs lately. He only gave up 1 earned run in his last start, but that hasn't been a common theme for him this year and the team has still lost 5 games in a row now with him starting. Look for the Dodgers to take advantage of this pitching matchup now that they are getting hot again. The best way to place a bet here is on the Dodgers to win this game and on the runline.

Pirates Dodgers Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, August 22, 2026 (7:15 pm ET start time) is Dodgers 8 Pirates 2.

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Pittsburgh Pirates: 34-21 (+12.8 units) on the moneyline in day games. 20-22 (+3.8 units) on the moneyline vs. an NL team with a slugging percentage of .430 or better on the season. 32-40 (+1.9 units) on the moneyline vs. NL teams allowing 4.0 or less runs/game on the season. 6-0 UNDER as a road underdog of +150 or more.

Los Angeles Dodgers: 44-45 (-24.7 units) on the moneyline against NL Central opponents. 292-193 (-22.7 units) on the moneyline in all games. 153-89 (-19.6 units) on the moneyline in home games. 20-12 UNDER at home when the total is 8 to 8.5.

Pittsburgh Pirates:  E. Rodriguez (C) Ten Day IL - Hip. M. Keller (SP) Sixty Day IL - Arm. R. O'Hearn (RF) Ten Day IL - Quad. K. Griffin (SS) Sixty Day IL - Finger.

Los Angeles Dodgers:  E. Diaz (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Neck. J. Wrobleski (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Forearm. B. Treinen (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. D. Rushing (C) Ten Day IL - Arm. W. Klein (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. W. Smith (C) Sixty Day IL - Neck. K. Bubic (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. B. Graterol (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. B. Casparius (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. T. Glasnow (SP) Sixty Day IL - Back. J. Cousins (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. G. Stone (SP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. B. Miller (SP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder.

“I wasn't surprised. I wasn't expecting it to be two nukes in the bottom of the ninth. But I had a feeling that we were going to win that game, and so when you have a good team like we do, it's like, who's it going to be? And so we had some guys step up today.” - Paul Skenes after their win against the Tigers in their game on Wednesday. 

“He’s been great for us. Roki is not a finished product, but he’s gotten considerably better from last year. Since the break, you look at the numbers, he’s been outstanding. Tonight, I thought the fastball was good, the split was good and he didn’t run from altitude. It was a little bit of a grind – he got the pitch count up [99, 73 strikes]. But getting through that fifth inning kind of put us in a much better spot with the ‘pen.” - Dave Roberts after his team’s win against the Rockies in their game on Wednesday.

Spencer Horwitz (L) 1B

Brandon Lowe (L) DH

Bryan Reynolds (S) LF

Esmerlyn Valdez (R) RF

Oneil Cruz (L) CF

Nick Gonzales (R) 2B

Jacob Gonzalez (L) SS

Jared Triolo (R) 3B

Henry Davis (R) C

Shohei Ohtani (L) DH

Andy Pages (R) CF

Teoscar Hernández (R) LF

Freddie Freeman (L) 1B

Mookie Betts (R) SS

Miguel Rojas (R) 2B

Kyle Tucker (L) RF

Enrique Hernández (R) 3B

Ben Rortvedt (L) C

Batting Average:  Rafael Flores (.313)

Hits:  Nick Gonzales (140)

Home Runs:  Brandon Lowe (27)

RBI:  Brandon Lowe (80)

Stolen Bases:  Oneil Cruz (22)

Wins:  Braxton Ashcraft (13)

Saves:  Gregory Soto (14)

ERA:  Khristian Curtis (0.00)

Batting Average:  Freddie Freeman (.303)

Hits:  Freddie Freeman (142)

Home Runs:  Shohei Ohtani (30)

RBI:  Andy Pages (80)

Stolen Bases:  Andy Pages (12)

Wins:  Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12)

Saves:  Tanner Scott (18)

ERA:  Seth Halvorsen (0.00)

Managers:

Pittsburgh Pirates: Don Kelly (2nd season)

Los Angeles Dodgers: Dave Roberts (11th season)