The Dodgers haven’t lost two games in a row in four weeks, but that run of success will be put to a tough test in Tuesday night’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

In a week in which they scored nine runs in one inning — their biggest frame since 2021 — the Dodgers also scored two or fewer runs in three of seven games last week and were held scoreless in 52 of their 62 innings at the plate.

Now they try to get the bats back on track against Pirates ace Paul Skenes.

Tuesday marks the fifth time in five series since Skenes debuted in 2024 that the right-hander will face the Dodgers. In his rookie season, the Dodgers and Pirates split those two games, and Skenes looked relatively human, with seven runs allowed in 11 innings, including three home runs.

Last year, Skenes simply fixed the glitch, and did not allow any runs to the Dodgers in 12 1/3 innings over two starts, both Pirates wins, en route to winning the National League Cy Young Award, after finishing third as a rookie. In total, Skenes has 33 strikeouts against only three walks against the Dodgers, with at least eight strikeouts in all four starts to date.

Skenes this year has allowed 15 runs (11 earned) in 20 innings over his last four starts, all Pirates losses. It’s just the second time Skenes has failed to pitch six innings in four consecutive starts, but last year’s four-game stint included a pair of scoreless starts.

The recent skid ballooned Skenes’ ERA to 3.09, which stands out because during his first two major league seasons saw him post a 1.96 and 1.97 ERA. That ERA this year still ranks 11th in the National League, while his 2.29 xERA is second. Skenes’ strikeout rate (29.5 percent) ranks fourth, while his strikeout-minus-walk rate (24.8 percent) is third.

Skenes is third in FanGraphs WAR (2.2) in the National League, tied with Shohei Ohtani, who will start on the mound on Wednesday and be the first batter Skenes faces on Tuesday. Ohtani homered off Skenes in their first meeting, on June 5, 2024, but overall has just two hits in 11 at-bats against him, with six strikeouts and a walk.

Andy Pages has four hits in six at-bats against Skenes, including a home run and two doubles, but only two other Dodgers have multiple hits off the Pirates ace — Kyle Tucker has a home run and double in five career at-bats, while Freddie Freeman has two hits in 12 at-bats, including a double.

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Pirates
• Ballpark: PNC Park, Pittsburgh
• Time: 3:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Inspiration.

I kept some oat milk in the refrigerator, thinking that when the time was right, it would be much better than regular milk.  Eventually the milk went sour.  I thought of Alek Thomas.

Doubts appeared before it happened.

“At this point, expecting Thomas to anchor center field for a competitive Diamondbacks club feels optimistic. His tools suggest upside, but four seasons of stasis on offense and regression on defense tell a different story.” — Jeff Irving, December 2025

“On the other end of the age spectrum, this season may be the last chance for Jorge Barrosa and Alek Thomas to have a breakthrough performance.” — Makakilo, February 2026

Ben Seigel asked, “When will the front office start to make some decisions on Alek Thomas?”  He made a strong argument:

“And there are multiple high-level prospects currently sitting down in Reno chomping at the bit for an opportunity including Tommy Troy, Ryan Waldschmidt, and eventually A.J. Vukovich when he returns from injury. That’s also not taking into account Jordan Lawlar’s eventual return…” — Ben Seigel, April 2026

My article, Which Outfielder Will Most Exceed Expectations? had a table of FanGraphs 2026 projections of four statistics (wRC+, OBP, HR/PA, and SLG) for each of six possible Diamondbacks outfielders.  This season with the Diamondbacks, Thomas fell significantly short of each of his four projections.  Also he fell short of the projections of the other possible outfielders except for Barrosa (SLG and HR/PA).

What happened?

This season with the Diamondbacks, Alek Thomas struggled at the plate.  He had several career low statistics, such as .222 OBP, .340 SLG, 3.0 BB%. His defense in center field, although above average, had not returned to the level of 2022/2023, when he was twice nominated for a gold glove.

Instead of optioning Thomas to AAA until he was ready to return, the Diamondbacks DFA’d him to remove him from the 40-man roster.  That opened a trade window prior to Thomas being available to other teams on waivers.  Only if he was not traded, and only if no team claimed him on waivers, would he be available to return to the Diamondbacks. 

The Dodgers made a trade offer that the Diamondbacks liked, so Thomas was traded to the Dodgers for Jose Requena, a 17-years-old outfielder. 

Mike Hazen’s comments are key to understanding the Diamondbacks’ viewpoint.  The bolded italics were added by me. 

• “I think he made changes this offseason, fundamentally, to target some of those things. I know he worked at all those things. It hasn’t translated.” — Mike Hazen, May 2026
• “I feel like if we just optioned him, feeling like he’s buried, sitting down there, biding his time until he gets another opportunity, I wasn’t sure that we were going to get the best version. This is the opportunity we’ll have to get the best version of him if he’s still here.” — Mike Hazen, May 2026

In the minors, had other outfielders developed to the point that keeping Thomas in the Majors would stunt their development?  My view is that the desired player mindset is working extraordinarily hard to prepare, not knowing whether an opportunity would happen.  I hold up Yilber Diaz as the prime example of the desired player mindset in the following two AZ Snake Pit articles:

• The secrets of his success.
• Is Yilber Diaz ready?

Is there an undiscovered Alek Thomas?

Alex Thomas, 1-6 June, AAA (Pacific Coast League) results follow (Data from Baseball Savant):

• Alek Thomas did not swing at five waste zone pitches (far from the strike zone).  That seems to reflect a very positive change compared to the 2026 season in the Majors, when he swung at 20.6% of waste zone pitches with zero hits.
• Recently, Alek Thomas’ OBP was worse in AAA (.176 vs .222), but xOBA was a little better (.327 vs .275).  Again, that seems positive.
• Recently, Alek Thomas hit a lot more ground balls compared to fly balls (roughly 4:1 vs 1.7:1).  This change likely reflects swing changes after being traded to the Dodgers. Recently, his launch angles are rarely in the optimal range. See table for more details.

The following table shows Exit Velocities (EV) , Launch Angles (LA), and Ball-In-Play (BIP) information for Alex Thomas 1-6 June, AAA.

My conclusion is that there are signs that Thomas made positive changes at the plate.  The undiscovered Alek Thomas may be emerging.

Summary.

This season was Alek Thomas’ last chance for a breakout season with the Diamondbacks. His defense was above average (albeit less than it was), but he struggled at the plate. His offseason work did not translate to season results. The Diamondbacks DFA’s him. Then they traded him to the Dodgers.

Perhaps Thomas now has a mindset similar to Yilber Diaz : working extraordinarily hard to prepare, not knowing whether another opportunity will happen.

In his first week in AAA, Alek Thomas reduced his swings at waste zone pitches (20.6% to zero), increased his expected on-base-percent, and hit a home run. On the other hand, he hit a lot of grounders, perhaps because his launch angles are rarely in the optimal range. The undiscovered Alek Thomas may be emerging.

After a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates where they were able get through without facing Paul Skenes, the Atlanta Braves are headed to Chicago where the Acuña brothers will be facing off.

Grant Holmes will be taking the mound, and as we have seen, he tends to run out of gas after going through the lineup twice. A big question mark is after an off day if Didier Fuentes will be available for long relief if needed. A combo of Holmes and Fuentes in the same game seems to be a solid strategy of it can be done.

So far this season Holmes has an ERA of 3.86 and FIP of 1.317, which are both right on par with the rest of his career. However, his 21.2 percent strikeout rate is the worst of his career, and his expected ERA (xERA) of 4.49 shows he is due for some regression. He has been particularly fortunate with a left on base percentage of 83.3 when his career average is 79.2, and his BABIP against him is .256, which is lower than his career .287.

Oddly, it is the second time a hitter faces him in a game when he struggles, not the third. Hitters are averaging an OPS of .569 the first time they see him, a 1.010 the second time, and a .519 the third. Nine of his twelve HRs that he has given up have been during the second time through the order. It will be interesting to see how Walt
Weiss handles him moving forward.

Only two players on the entire White Sox active roster have faced Holmes, and neither have more than two at-bats. Coincidentally it is Ronald Acuña’s brother, Luisangel, who has those two at-bats and he is hitless. Randal Grichuk is hitless in his one at-bat.

Like the Pirates that the Braves just swept, the White Sox are a team that have been surprisingly good on offense. They are fourth in MLB in HRs, and seventh in total runs per game. Good news for the Braves is they are bottom ten in ERA with a 4.38 right behind their crosstown rivals, the Cubs.

Former Braves pitcher Erick Fedde was originally slated to take the mound for the Braves. But then it was announced that Brandon Eisert will be opening. Eisert held Atlanta hitless last season in 1.1 innings and has had a solid year thus far in 14.0 innings. This season he has a 3.21 ERA, 2.97 FIP, and a 1.214 WHIP. He also has fifteen strikeouts to only five walks.

Based on Fedde originally slotted to start, it can be guessed that he will be following Eisert. Fedde’s time with the Braves is probably time that he would like to forget when he had an ERA of 8.10 in 23.1 innings in 2025. Fedde is not exactly doing well this season either. He currently sports an ERA of 4.94 and an xERA of 4.50. His xERA is in the bottom 33.0 percent of MLB. He is only striking out 14.2 hitters which is in the bottom 4.0 percent of MLB and is walking 9.4 percent, which is in the worst 40.0 percent.

On paper, the Braves’ offense should be licking their chops should they get to face Fedde, but we never truly know with the great game of baseball what will happen. Ronald Acuña and Austin Riley have had the best success against Fedde on the team. In nineteen at-bats Acuña has three HRs, a .316 average, and a 1.277 OPS. In twenty- two at-bats Riley has a .982 OPS with one HR. Another player to keep an eye on is Michael Harris. We already know he is on fire this year, but in his nine at-bats against Fedde he has a .667 average and 1.445 OPS. As far as Eisert goes, there is not enough data to really draw any conclusions, but based on his 14.0 innings this year, the Braves need to get him off the mound as fast as they can to move on to the other pitchers on the White Sox roster.

First pitch is at 7:40 EDT

Game Info

Game Time: Friday, June 9th, 7:40 pm EDT

Location: Rate Field, , Chicago, IL

Watch: BravesVision / Gray TV

Radio/Audio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

The Mets have announced that Kodai Senga will not make his scheduled Tuesday rehab start with Double-A Binghamton due to ulnar nerve irritation.

Tuesday’s start would have been Senga’s fourth rehab outing. In his first three starts, Senga has allowed seven earned runs on 14 hits over 12.0 innings. 

Manager Carlos Mendoza previously noted that Senga's velocity was "a little down" in his last start.

Senga has been on the IL since April 28 while dealing with lumbar spine inflammation.

Prior to landing on the IL, Senga had been struggling mightily, pitching to a 9.00 ERA in five starts, making his spot in the rotation questionable at best whenever he is fully healthy. 

The latest news on the Houston Astros!

Another day, another injury: LaMonte Wade Jr. is heading to the IL, and Joey Loperfido is being recalled per Brian McTaggart:

The IL stint follows a hamstring injury:

The number is ZERO.

Dana Brown also doesn’t intend on selling:

Josh Hader has been on fire since returning:

Hader struck out the side yesterday in the 9th. He has 7K in 3 IP, has not allowed a hit.

Altuve on his sprint home to score the winning run Monday:

In Chandler Rome’s most recent piece, he discusses several topics: The Astros will maintain they are buyers; a LH hitting OF is the team’s biggest need; Doubts Yordan will be dealt; a potential Jeremy Pena trade window; Christian Vazquez impact on staff & what kind of playing time he may get upon the return of Yainer Diaz; the Astros patience with Mike Burrows:

Cole Hertzler is movin’ on up:

Seven years ago today, Yordan Alvarez made his major league debut:

Collin Price got hit first big league hit:

Milestone for Spencer Arrighetti:

Of note: In Bob Nightengale’s latest column, he mentions teams that are ‘delusional’ in their statements about not being willing to sell despite bad records. The Astros are not one of the teams he mentions.

Things he does mention:

• Aroldis Chapman likely to be dealt
• Freddy Peralta wants a Max Fried type deal in FA
• DBacks and Ketel Marte still at odds
• Twins SP Bailey Ober filed a formal complaint about the quality of baseballs, and believes they led to his latest injury. More pitchers are echoing his sentiments

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Let’s hope the elements don’t interfere with a tape-measuring showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers star-studded lineup and Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes at PNC Park on Tuesday, June 9.

My top Dodgers vs. Pirates predictions and MLB picks are calling for Los Angeles to eke out a low-scoring win against Skenes tonight.

Who will win Dodgers vs Pirates today: Dodgers moneyline (+100)

The Pittsburgh Pirates have lineup regulars Brandon Lowe (knee) and Oneil Cruz (hand) day-to-day with minor injuries, and ace Paul Skenes is struggling on the bump with 15 runs allowed across his past four starts.

Obviously, Skenes’ underlying 3.07 xFIP and 3.25 xERA highlight there’s been some tough luck during the skid, but he’s also tasked with facing the best lineup in the majors by wOBA and OPS against right-handed pitchers tonight.

Add the potential for rain delays and/or stoppages due to forecast rain and thundershowers, to Pittsburgh ranking 20th in bullpen ERA over the past 30 days, and the Los Angeles Dodgers moneyline is playable to -110.

COVERS INTEL: While it’s a small sample, Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Eric Lauer’s dipped to a 21.7% squared-up contact rate across two starts with his new team after allowing a 34.4% mark through 36 1/3  innings with the Toronto Blue Jays to start the season.

Dodgers vs Pirates Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-115)

With the highlighted Pittsburgh injury question marks and overall lack of success against left-handed pitchers, I’m anticipating the Pirates doing limited damage at the dish to keep this total Under the number.

Additionally, even with Skenes’ noted bump in the road, he still paces the majors in xERA since debuting in 2024. So, I fully expect him to pitch well and hold the Los Angeles bats largely in check.

Of course, the Dodgers have also played to the Under in 27 of their past 45 games (+7.30 Units / 15% ROI), so I like this bet down to -125.

Dodgers vs Pirates odds

• Moneyline: Dodgers +100 | Pirates -120
• Run line: Dodgers -1.5 (+155) | Pirates +1.5 (-185)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-105) | Under 8.5 (-115)

Dodgers vs Pirates trend

The Los Angeles Dodgers have won 32 of their last 45 road games (+10.00 Units / 13% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Pirates.

How to watch Dodgers vs Pirates and game info

Dodgers vs Pirates latest injuries

Dodgers vs Pirates weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

According to a report by Brian McTaggart, the Houston Astros will place OF LaMonte Wade Jr. on the 10-day IL today, and recall OF Joey Loperfido from Triple-A Sugar Land.

Wade Jr. made an immediate impact with the Astros after being signed by the team June 4, batting .333 with a .385 OBP and 1.135 OPS. He hit two doubles, a HR and drove in 4 in 4 games (12 AB). He was injured while running out a base hit.

Loperfido, who was re-acquired by the Astros in the offseason, hit .276 with a .348 OBP and .711 OPS with 5 doubles and 7 RBI across 58 AB earlier this season before he was injured running out a groundout.

Loperfido, who was optioned to Triple-A after being activated from the IL last Thursday, is batting .297 with a .381 OBP and .732 OPS with 2 doubles and 4 RBI at Sugar Land over 37 AB.