Paul Skenes strikes out 9, wins duel with Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Pirates’ 3-0 victory over Dodgers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul Skenes pitched 6 1/3 innings of five-hit ball with a season-high nine strikeouts, winning his duel with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-0 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.

Emmanuel Valdez, Oneil Cruz and Ke’Bryan Hayes drove in runs for the Pirates, who have won three of four on their Southern California trip after Skenes came out on top in this tantalizing mound matchup.

Skenes (3-2), an Orange County native, won in the Los Angeles metroplex for the first time while his family and friends watched from a Dodger Stadium suite.

Pittsburgh’s 22-year-old ace allowed just one runner to reach third while throwing a career-high 108 pitches, and he retired Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts three times apiece.

Yamamoto (3-2) labored through five innings, yielding five hits, four walks and three runs — just one earned. He had allowed only one unearned run over 19 innings in his previous three starts combined.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, April 25, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The Dodgers have lost three straight and four of five after opening a six-game homestand with only their third home defeat in 13 games this season.

Pittsburgh got to Yamamoto immediately in a 32-pitch first inning. Cruz walked, stole second and scored on Valdez’s two-out single.

Henry Davis reached second on Max Muncy’s throwing error in the fifth and scored on Cruz’s 117.6 mph single. Hayes added an RBI single before Yamamoto escaped.

After Andy Pages doubled in the fifth, Skenes struck out Ohtani with a knee-buckling curve.

Key moment

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto gestures after a double play ended the top of the third inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, April 25, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Freddie Freeman doubled leading off the fourth and kept going to third when Bryan Reynolds lost the ball. Skenes kept Freeman there, getting a short groundout, a strikeout and an inning-ending fly.

Key stat

Three relievers finished the Pirates’ third shutout win in eight games, with David Bednar getting his second save.

Up next

Roki Sasaki (0-1, 3.20 ERA) makes his sixth major league start Saturday against Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller (1-2, 4.18).