Dodgers Sweep Pirates, Reel Off 5 Straight
Los Angeles swept Pittsburgh to push its winning streak to 5, and Tyler Glasnow is set to return Tuesday in Atlanta with the Dodgers 9 games clear of San Diego atop the NL West.
A sweep of the Pirates
Pirates5-4Pirates4-3Pirates4-0The Dodgers closed the book on Pittsburgh with three straight wins at home, opening 8/21 with a 5-4 decision, following with a 4-3 win on 8/22, and finishing the set 8/23 with a 4-0 shutout that left the Pirates without a run over the final game of the series.
That sweep is part of a run of 5 straight victories dating back to a 7-6 win over the Rockies on 8/18 and a 6-4 win over Colorado on 8/19, both on the road, before the club came home and took care of Pittsburgh in three consecutive games.
NL West 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 no games back. San Diego is next at 71-60, 9.0 games back with an elimination number of 23, and Arizona follows at 69-62, 11.0 games back with an elimination number of 21.
San Francisco (52-78) and Colorado (50-80) are far out of the picture, trailing by 27.5 and 29.5 games with elimination numbers of 5 and 3, respectively — both single-digit counts away from being mathematically finished in the division.
Roster report
Will Smith (neck) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports, while Andy Pages had a compression screw inserted into his fractured left hand Sunday in an attempt to expedite healing, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports. Dalton Rushing (elbow) took part in batting practice at Dodger Stadium on Friday, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
On the pitching side, Tyler Glasnow (back) is starting Tuesday against Atlanta, and manager Dave Roberts said Wrobleski (forearm) will work as a multi-inning reliever once he's back, while Edwin Diaz (neck) will move into a low-leverage role upon his return, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register. Jake Cousins (elbow) faced live hitters Saturday, and Will Klein said Friday he's largely symptom-free in his right elbow, both per Ardaya.
Further down the rehab list, Gavin Stone struck out five over three shutout innings Thursday with Oklahoma City, Bobby Miller struck out three across three scoreless innings Sunday, Blake Treinen tossed a scoreless, hitless inning with two strikeouts Saturday for Single-A Ontario, Ben Casparius allowed one earned run over just one out Friday, and Kris Bubic is hoping to begin a rehab assignment around early September.
Tuesday night in Atlanta
Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 2.72 ERA) gets the ball for Los Angeles in his return, having last worked 1.0 inning against Houston on 5/6, allowing one earned run and one hit with two strikeouts on 19 pitches without a decision. Atlanta counters with Bryce Elder (8-7, 3.92 ERA), who worked 6.0 innings against Arizona at home on 8/16, allowing one earned run on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts over 75 pitches without a decision.
The market makes Los Angeles a -157 favorite on the road against Atlanta's +130, with the total set at 8.5 — a number that leans on Glasnow's shortened workload in his first outing back rather than a full expectation of length, and puts the pressure on the Dodgers' offense to keep pace if their returning starter is limited in pitches.