Dodgers send Blake Snell to mound in effort to sweep Pirates

Two starts into his return from an elbow procedure, Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell has already tapped into his ace persona and will be on the mound again Sunday in the finale of a three-game series against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.

Shoulder fatigue delayed Snell's start to the season and after one start he was back on the injured list with elbow discomfort that necessitated the removal of loose bodies.

Snell (1-1, 3.60 ERA) came back to allow one run over six innings on Aug. 11 against the Kansas City Royals and repeated that feat Monday in the altitude of Colorado for his first win since last September.

The lone blip against the Rockies came in the third inning when he walked the first three batters. But he gave up just one run in the frame.

"Three walks in a row and then limited the damage, which was great," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters. "He started to use his changeup a little bit more and got a lot of bad swings."

Snell is 1-3 with a 7.27 ERA in six career starts against the Pirates. The worst of his 11 starts in the 2025 regular season came at Pittsburgh on Sept. 4 when he allowed five runs on nine hits over five innings.

With Andy Pages (broken hand) placed on the injured list Saturday, Alek Thomas was recalled for his Dodgers' debut and contributed an RBI single. Thomas was acquired in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks in May and has been waiting for his chance at Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Before going to the minor leagues, though, he worked out at the Dodgers' spring training complex then went to a swing lab in Atlanta for a thorough assessment.

"I want to be here and be on the team and help the team win games," Thomas said. "But for me, I looked at (time in Triple-A) as an opportunity to fix something that will help me in the future."

The Pirates will send right-hander Lake Bachar to the mound Sunday as the opener. Bachar (1-2, 3.75 ERA) walked three in one inning of relief Friday against the Dodgers. Right-handed swingman Carmen Mlodzinski is expected to pitch multiple innings.

Pittsburgh jumped on Dodgers left-hander Tarik Skubal for three runs in the first inning Saturday, but was shut down the rest of the way in a 4-3 defeat. Skubal had 11 strikeouts over seven innings.

Pirates right-hander Jared Jones did not allow a hit over his first three innings but saw his day end after allowing two runs in the fourth. Starter Bubba Chandler went just four innings Friday. Jones walked five, while Chandler permitted two free passes.

"As far as the rotation goes, I think that something we continue to talk about is we have to get in the zone and throw more strikes, get ahead," Pirates manager Don Kelly told reporters. "... We have to dominate the strike zone. Free passes, especially against a team like the Dodgers, will kill you."

Oneil Cruz had a two-run triple in the first inning for the Pirates on Saturday and hit a two-run home run Friday. In four games since returning from a broken hand, he has four hits, two of which are home runs, and seven RBIs.

--Field Level Media