Dodgers Sweep Pirates, Win 5th Straight
Los Angeles closed out a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh to push its winning streak to five games and move to 80-51. Tyler Glasnow is set to return from the injured list Tuesday against Atlanta as the club looks to keep the National League West race out of reach.
Five in a row
PiratesW5-4PiratesW4-3PiratesW4-0The Dodgers have not lost since August 18, and the streak now sits at five games. It started on the road with a 7-6 win over the Colorado Rockies on August 19, followed by a 6-4 win over the same Rockies club on August 20.
Los Angeles brought that momentum home and finished the job against Pittsburgh, sweeping a three-game series that included a doubleheader. The Dodgers won the first game 5-4 on August 22, took the nightcap 4-3 later that same day, then closed the series with a 4-0 shutout on August 23.
Five straight wins by a combined margin that included two one-run games, a two-run game and a shutout shows the club grinding out close ones as well as blowing a series open. Pittsburgh managed just four runs total across the final two games of the set.
The race
| NL West | W | L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dodgers | 80 | 51 | .611 | — |
 Padres | 71 | 60 | .542 | 9.0 |
 Diamondbacks | 69 | 62 | .527 | 11.0 |
 Giants | 52 | 78 | .400 | 27.5 |
 Rockies | 50 | 80 | .385 | 29.5 |
At 80-51, the Dodgers sit atop the NL West with the Padres the closest pursuer at 71-60, 9.0 games back with an elimination number of 23. The Diamondbacks are next at 69-62, 11.0 games behind with an elimination number of 21.
The bottom of the division is out of the picture. The Giants (52-78) sit 27.5 games back with an elimination number of just 5, and the Rockies (50-80) are 29.5 games back with an elimination number of 3 — meaning either club can be mathematically eliminated within days.
Roster report
Catcher Will Smith, out with a neck injury, is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, manager Dave Roberts said Sunday, per Katie Woo of The Athletic. Fellow catcher Dalton Rushing, on the 10-day IL, took batting practice at Dodger Stadium on Friday, according to Sonja Chen of MLB.com. Center fielder Andy Pages had a compression screw inserted into his fractured left hand Sunday in an effort to speed his recovery, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
On the pitching side, Justin Wrobleski (forearm) will work as a multi-inning reliever once he's back from the 15-day IL, Roberts said Saturday, per Ardaya. Edwin Diaz (neck) will shift into a low-leverage role upon his return from the 15-day IL, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports, while Will Klein said Friday he's largely symptom-free in his surgically repaired right elbow. Reliever Jake Cousins (elbow) faced live hitters Saturday, according to Ardaya.
Further down the rehab pipeline, Gavin Stone struck out five over three hitless, shutout innings for Oklahoma City on Thursday, and Bobby Miller struck out three over three scoreless innings in his own rehab outing Sunday, allowing two hits and a walk. Blake Treinen opened a rehab assignment with Single-A Ontario on Saturday with a scoreless, hitless inning and two strikeouts. Kris Bubic is hoping to begin a minor-league rehab assignment in early September, and Ben Casparius allowed a run on four walks while recording just one out in his latest rehab appearance Friday. Brusdar Graterol, meanwhile, recently underwent back surgery after being hurt during a rehab assignment.
Tonight vs. Atlanta
Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to return from the injured list Tuesday against the Braves, Ardaya reports. He carries a 3-0 record and a 2.72 ERA, though his last outing came May 6 against Houston, a no-decision in which he threw just 19 pitches over one inning, allowing one earned run, one hit and two strikeouts without a walk.
Atlanta counters with Bryce Elder, 8-7 with a 3.92 ERA, who was a no-decision in his last start August 16 against Arizona — six innings, one earned run, four hits, a walk and five strikeouts on 75 pitches. First pitch at Atlanta is set for 6:15 PM local time.
The market has the Dodgers as -157 favorites against the Braves' +130, with a total of 8.5 runs set for the opener of the series.
