De La Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.
De La Cruz has yet to get on track since being acquired from Miami ahead of the trade deadline, as he's gone 4-for-34 with 14 strikeouts in his first eight games for Pittsburgh. Bryan Reynolds, Michael Taylor and Ji Hwan Bae will start from left to right in the outfield for Sunday's series finale in Los Angeles.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Allows season-high four runs
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Skenes (6-2) took the loss against the Dodgers on Saturday, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk over six innings. He struck out eight.
The Dodgers were able to get to Skenes early, tagging the rookie sensation for a run in the opening frame, two more in the third and another in the fifth, all coming across with two outs. The four runs allowed marked a season high for the right-hander and he's now taken a loss in two of his last three starts. On a positive note, Skenes was able to generate 13 swings-and-misses on the night while striking out at least eight batters for the 10th time in his last 12 outings.
McCutchen is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.
McCutchen is absent from the starting nine for a third consecutive game, an interesting development for the 37-year-old who has operated as Pittsburgh's everyday DH. It's possible McCutchen is dealing with an injury, but there haven't been any updates regarding his string of absences. Joey Bart will start at DH and bat cleanup Saturday.
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Pirates' Ji Hwan Bae: Idle again
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Bae is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.
Bae will be on the bench for a second consecutive game, giving way to Michael Taylor in center field again Saturday. Considering the Dodgers have started right-handed pitchers in both contests, the lefty-hitting Bae could be losing playing time.
Bart went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Friday's 9-5 loss to the Dodgers.
Bart remains hot at the plate, with four homers and 10 RBI over his last seven contests. He's also posted a 1:7 BB:K in that span, but that's less of a concern when he's making such authoritative contact. For the year, the catcher is up to a .267/.349/.514 slash line with 10 homers, 32 RBI, 23 runs scored and six doubles over 49 contests. His career high in homers is 11 in 97 games with the Giants in 2022.
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Pirates' Oneil Cruz: Homers in three-hit game
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Cruz went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, a double and an additional RBI in Friday's 9-5 loss to the Dodgers.
Cruz came up a triple shy of the cycle, logging his second three-hit game in a row since returning from an illness. The shortstop has gone 12-for-24 (.500) with three extra-base hits over six contests in August. Cruz is up to a .262/.315/.473 slash line with a career-high 18 homers, 59 RBI, 54 runs scored, 24 doubles and 11 stolen bases over 103 games this season.
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Pirates' Mitch Keller: Struggles against Dodgers
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Keller (10-6) allowed seven runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five over four innings Friday, taking the loss versus the Dodgers.
Keller gave up home runs to Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani before the Dodgers added four more runs off singles. Keller has worked only four innings in each of his two August starts, but this one wasn't abbreviated by weather. The seven runs he allowed were a season high, inflating his ERA from 3.20 to 3.56. He's added a 1.22 WHIP and 123:38 K:BB over 136.1 innings across 23 starts. Keller will look to bounce back in a projected road outing versus the Padres.
The Pirates optioned Stratton to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Stratton will end up as the Pirates' roster casualty as Domingo German comes up from Triple-A to give Pittsburgh another long relief option. The 27-year-old Stratton got off to a rough start in the majors this season, though he went unscored upon in five innings during his latest stint with the Pirates.
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Pirates' Domingo German: Contract selected
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The Pirates selected German's contract from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
German hasn't had much success in Triple-A this season, posting a 5.29 ERA and 1.43 WHIP through 68 innings across 13 starts. He'll join the big-league pitching staff nonetheless and will presumably work out of the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever. Hunter Stratton was optioned to Indianapolis to create space on the active roster, and Josh Walker was DFA'd to open a 40-man roster spot.
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Pirates' Josh Walker: Dropped from 40-man
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The Pirates designated Walker for assignment Friday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Walker was optioned to Triple-A after coming over from the Mets in a trade July 30, and he'll now lose his spot on the 40-man roster to make room for Domingo German, who was selected to the big-league squad Friday. Walker owns a 3.34 ERA and 1.35 WHIP through 29.2 minor-league innings on the season.
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Pirates' Andrew McCutchen: Sitting down Friday
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McCutchen isn't in the Pirates' lineup Friday against the Dodgers.
McCutchen will sit down for a second consecutive game Friday despite going 6-for-15 with a homer and four RBI since the start of August. His absence will put Joey Bart in as the designated hitter while Yasmani Grandal starts behind the plate.
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Pirates' Ji Hwan Bae: Sitting Friday
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Bae isn't in the Pirates' lineup for Friday's game against the Dodgers.
Bae has gone 3-for-17 with an RBI since returning from a knee injury that kept him sidelined for four games. He'll now get a breather Friday while Michael Taylor starts in center field and bats ninth.
Pirates' Domingo German: Set to join major-league roster
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German is set to have his contract selected from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
German will join the major-league roster after compiling a 5.29 ERA and 1.43 WHIP with 66 strikeouts over 68 innings in 13 starts with Indianapolis this season. The right-hander had an opt-out in his contract for Friday, so the Pirates opted to add him to the big-league roster. It's unclear if German will draw a start or not, but more information will likely be provided when the move is made official.
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Pirates' Joey Bart: Stays hot at plate
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Bart went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run, a double and an additional run scored Thursday against the Padres.
Bart's two-run blast in the seventh inning was his ninth of the season and gave the Pirates their first lead of the game. It was the third homer and fourth multi-hit game in the last seven starts for Bart, who has wrestled the No. 1 catcher's job away from Yasmani Grandal while starting 14 of 19 games since the All-Star break. Bart is batting .327 with three homers, nine RBI and 10 runs scored during that stretch.
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Pirates' David Bednar: Blows another save, takes loss
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Bednar (3-4) took the loss Thursday, allowing three runs on two hits and two walks over two-thirds of an inning against the Padres. He struck out one.
Bednar couldn't finish the ninth, blowing his second save in as many days. It was the fifth blown save for the Pirates' closer, who allowed at least one earned run for the fourth consecutive outing, though it's the first time he's given up more than one earned run since April 26. Bednar once again struggled with his command, walking two to give him seven walks and a hit batsman over his last five appearances after having walked only seven batters over his first 37 outings. Bednar's ERA now stands at 5.77 with a 1.31 WHIP, though he had posted a 2.86 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 29 games prior to these last two performances against San Diego.
