PITCHING MATCHUPS
MONDAY: Tyler Glasnow (RHP) vs Jared Jones (RHP)
Former Pirate Tyler Glasnow returns to Pittsburgh and will make his first career start against his former club. This season, Glasnow has been very good for the Dodgers through 12 starts, collecting a 6-3 record with a 3.04 ERA in 74 innings pitched. He has struck out a league-high 95 so far while walking 21, he notably is also leading the league in wild pitches with eight. Glasnow had a solid month of May, posting a 1-2 record with a 3.48 ERA in five starts.
Jared Jones will look to get back on track with his toughest challenge yet. Last time, Jones had the toughest start of his career, allowing five earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched against the Detroit Tigers. In his last four starts, Jones has posted a 5.24 ERA and a 4.79 FIP in 22.1 innings pitched.
TUESDAY: James Paxton (LHP) vs Paul Skenes (RHP)
After a quality season in Boston last season, posting a 4.50 ERA in 19 starts and 96 innings pitched, James Paxton is off to a very good start with the Dodgers, with an undefeated 5-0 record and a 3.29 ERA in 10 starts. That being said, Paxton's FIP suggests the 35-year-old left-hander is getting a bit lucky with his FIP sitting at what would be a career-high 5.37.
Skenes' first four career starts probably could not have gone much better. Entering his fifth career start, Skenes is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 22 innings pitched with 30 strikeouts and just five walks. His FIP of 2.41 suggests that the 2023 first overall pitch is pitching just as well as his surface numbers suggest. Like Jones, this will be Skenes' toughest start yet and it should be an exciting one.
WEDNESDAY: Walker Buehler (RHP) vs Bailey Falter (LHP)
After missing the entire 2023 season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, Buehler returned earlier this season and has been up and down. He enters this week with a 1-3 record and a 4.32 ERA in five starts and 25 innings pitched. The two-time top-10 Cy Young Award vote-getter has allowed 33 base runners in his 25 innings pitched and posted a 5.42 FIP. It seems likely only a matter of a time that Buehler turns the corner but he certainly has been scuffling through his first five starts of 2024.
Bailey Falter has been a pleasant surprise for the Pirates this season, and he'll look to continue that against the Dodgers on Wednesday evening. Falter enters his 12th start of the season with a 3.22 ERA and a 3-2 record. According to his 4.52 FIP, he's been getting a bit lucky this season, but he has so far posted a career-low WHIP of 0.948 and has surrendered just 16 walks in 64 innings pitched.