Pirates Make Starting Pitcher Decision vs. Dodgers

The Pirates acquired Bachar at the trade deadline from the Miami Marlins and he's pitched well for his new team, with a 3.27 ERA over five outings and 11.0 innings pitched, 12 strikeouts to six walks, a .179 BAA and a 1.18 WHIP.

Bachar should give the Pirates three innings and then Mlodzinski can come in and provide a bigger bulk role, if possible.

He also has pitched just once since his last start vs. the Red Sox, in the series opener vs. the Dodgers on Aug. 21, walking three batters, but throwing a scoreless frame in the seventh inning.

It's a big chance for Bachar to continue showing his reliability out of the bullpen, but doing so in the starting role this time.

Can Mlodzinski Finally Pitch How the Pirates Expect Him to?

The Pirates have this hole in the starting rotation after Mitch Keller suffered a right arm teres major muscle injury, landing him on the 60-day injured list and ending his season.

Mlodzinski, who already had a two-month stint in the Pirates rotation, went right back into that spot, but struggled massively in his second stint this season.

He posted a 14.04 ERA, 13 earned runs over 8.1 innings pitched, five walks to five strikeouts, two home runs, 20 hits (21.00 H/9), 3.00 WHIP and a .455 BAA, with a 53.8% hard-hit rate.

The Pirates lost all three of his starts and his poor pitching put them into a tough situation early in those games.

Mlodzinski is much better coming out of the bullpen, but he's also had a bulk role before in this season.

He pitched two bulk role outings vs. the Washington Nationals on April 15 and Colorado Rockies on May 14, both at PNC Park, and gave up a combined two runs over 11 innings.

Mlodzinski has also posted a 2.15 ERA as a reliever this season and that might just be where the Pirates will get the most out of him over the last five weeks of the season.