The Dodgers (43-25) looked well on their way to another win over the Pirates after a Ryan Ward grand slam gave them a 6-1 lead. Shohei Ohtani battled ongoing command issues, a blister and the humid weather for six innings of one-run ball. Dave Roberts chose to keep him in for the seventh with a 6-1 lead and kept him in after the first two batters reached base. Ohtani got a pair of strikeouts, but gave up a two-run double to Brandon Lowe before Roberts finally pulled him. Alex Vesia relieved him and got a grounder to get out of the inning, but Max Muncy misplayed it and a fourth run (three earned) came in charged to Ohtani. The Dodgers still had the lead, but Kyle Hurt and Jack Dreyer combined to allow five runs in the eighth. Ohtani hit one out to make it 9-8 in the ninth, but Gregory Soto held on for a Pirate win. Today, the Dodgers look to bounce back in the rubber match.
3:40 P.M.
Pittsburgh
DH
Ohtani (L)
3B
Gonzales
CF
Pages
2B
Lowe (L)
1B
Freeman (L)
LF
Reynolds (S)
SS
Betts
DH
Ozuna
3B
Muncy (L)
1B
Horwitz (L)
RF
Tucker (L)
RF
Valdez
LF
Ward (L)
CF
Mangum (S)
C
Rushing (L)
C
Flores
2B
Freeland (S)
SS
Triolo
P
Wrobleski (L)
P
Keller (R)
Justin Wrobleski gets the ball coming off a good start in Arizona last time out. Wrobo reverted back to a bit of his early-season ways, as he only struck out four batters and allowed six hits but kept the Diamondbacks off the board through his six innings. Wrobleski hit a bit of a rough patch in May, but he’s been extremely effective at run prevention. He’s allowed 20 runs through his 11 starts and 14 of them came in that three-start stretch in mid-May. Wrobleski’s allowed one or zero earned runs in seven of his 11 starts, but only has 44 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings. His 16.1 percent strikeout rate is the fourth-worst among qualified starters and his 4.4% HR/FB rate is the lowest among qualified starters (average tends to be around 10 percent). You can see the room for regression and that regression hit Wrobo in those three starts. Wrobo pitched in Pittsburgh in relief last September and struck out two in two shutout innings and only allowed one baserunner on a HBP.
Mitch Keller makes his 14th start of the season for the Pirates tonight. Keller’s been very consistent for most of his career but especially over the last three seasons. He’s made 31 or 32 starts each of the last three seasons and posted ERA’s between 4.19 and 4.25 each year. This season’s been a bit odd for Keller, as his 4.81 ERA would be his highest since 2021 and his 3.60 FIP would be his best since 2019. Keller had a 2.81 ERA through his first eight starts this season, but things have fallen apart hard since. Keller’s allowed six or more runs in three of his last five starts and has given up 13 runs and 17 hits in 8 2/3 innings over the last two starts. Despite his struggles, Keller’s only allowed five homers this season (tied for the seventh-fewest among qualified starters) Keller’s faced the Dodgers six times in his career and his 6.59 ERA against the Dodgers in his fourth-worst ERA against any team. Keller’s allowed 21 earned runs in 28 2/3 innings against the Dodgers, but had a solid start against them last season in LA. Keller allowed five hits and two earned runs (one earned) over six innings and left the game tied, but the Pirate bullpen gave up five runs.
Keller’s thrown seven different pitch types this season, leading with a four-seamer (33.1 percent). He’s also thrown a sweeper (17.3 percent), sinker (16.3 percent), change (10.6 percent), slider (9 percent), curve (7.3 percent) and cutter (6.4 percent). Two of the five homers Keller’s allowed have come off the sweeper.
The Dodgers roll out the exact same lineup as the last two days. However, they’re finally not shorthanded behind the plate.
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Our long national nightmare is over, as they finally put Will Smith on the IL and called up Chuckie Robinson.
#Dodgers have selected the contract of catcher Chuckie Robinson and placed catcher Will Smith on the injured list with neck inflammation, retroactive to June 8.
— Kirsten Watson (@kirsten_watson) June 11, 2026
Smith’s IL is backdated the maximum three days. He hasn’t played since he was scratched from the lineup on June 6 with neck soreness, so Dalton Rushing‘s been their only healthy catcher for four games in that time. Like I wrote in yesterday’s thread, they released Tyler Fitzgerald to clear a spot on the 40-man and Robinson gets the call. Robinson has a .763 OPS in 21 games for OKC this season and has 52 Major League appearances under his belt. Roberts said whichever catcher was called up would likely start the opener tomorrow against the White Sox, so Robinson figures to get the start against a team he played 26 games with in 2024.
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First pitch is scheduled for 3:40 PM PT and will be on SportsNet LA.
