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Series preview: Can Pirates play spoiler against Dodgers?

The Pirates play three in LA this week.

By Jeremy_Brener
Los Angeles Dodgers v Pittsburgh Pirates Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

Pittsburgh Pirates (42-76) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (72-46), August 16-18, 2021

Location: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

TV: AT&T Sports Pittsburgh

Radio: KDKA-AM

Dodgers SB Nation Site: True Blue LA

The Pirates head out west to face the defending champion Dodgers.

Here’s a look at what we can expect this week:

Projected Starters

Monday, 10:10 p.m. EST

Steven Brault (0-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. TBD

Tuesday, 10:10 p.m. EST

Wil Crowe (3-7, 5.27 ERA) vs. David Price (4-1, 3.60 ERA)

Wednesday, 10:10 p.m. EST

JT Brubaker (4-12, 5.13 ERA) vs. TBD

Projected Lineups

Pirates

  1. Hoy Park (RF)
  2. Ke’Bryan Hayes (3B)
  3. Bryan Reynolds (CF)
  4. Colin Moran (1B)
  5. Ben Gamel (LF)
  6. Jacob Stallings (C)
  7. Rodolfo Castro (2B)
  8. Kevin Newman (SS)
  9. Starting Pitcher

Dodgers

  1. Trea Turner (2B)
  2. Max Muncy (1B)
  3. Justin Turner (3B)
  4. Corey Seager (SS)
  5. Will Smith (C)
  6. Chris Taylor (LF)
  7. Cody Bellinger (CF)
  8. Billy McKinney (RF)
  9. Starting Pitcher

The Pirates head out west for a six-game road trip that starts tonight in Los Angeles, facing the defending champion Dodgers.

The last time the Pirates faced an NL West team, the team won a series against the MLB-best San Francisco Giants, giving fans reason for optimism heading into the series.

The Dodgers are comfortably wedged into the NL’s first Wild Card spot, sitting four games back of the Giants for the division and 8.5 games ahead of the first team outside of the playoff picture, the Cincinnati Reds.

As of publication, the Dodgers have yet to name a starter for Monday and Wednesday night, but it’s highly unlikely the team will see ace Walker Buehler or new acquisition Max Scherzer, as both of them pitched over the weekend. The team will certainly see David Price, who is slated to start Tuesday’s game.

For the Pirates, Steven Brault, Wil Crowe and JT Brubaker hit the mound for the series. Of the three, the most-anticipated starter to see out of the three is Crowe, who won back-to-back starts to end July but has lost back-to-back starts to begin August. Hopefully he can rebound and get back in the win column Tuesday.

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