Pittsburgh Pirates vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/25/25

The MLB slate rolls along on Friday, and the best pitching matchup of the entire weekend takes place in Los Angeles, where the Pittsburgh Pirates will take on the World Series favorite Dodgers under the lights. Given that we might have a showdown between the top 2 pitchers in the National League in this game, it’s hard not to target the Under on Friday.

Paul Skenes gets the ball for Pittsburgh, and the Cy Young favorite in the NL has picked up right where he left off a season ago. Skenes currently holds a 2.87 ERA and has allowed just 10 earned runs over his first 5 outings this season. Furthermore, Skenes’ advanced metrics (2.06 xERA, 3.4% walk rate, .237 xWOBA, 56.6% ground ball rate) all rank inside the top 10 percentile of all qualified pitchers, proving that he’s even due for a bit of positive regression in some areas, despite his already strong start. That success should continue against a Dodgers lineup that while dangerous, does not have much success against Skenes in a small sample size.

As for the hosts, Los Angeles is sending Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the mound, who is in the midst of an outstanding start to the season (0.93 ERA, 35.2% strikeout rate, 63.5% ground ball rate). Unlike last season, the Dodgers’ ace has hit the ground running and has only surrendered 3 earned runs over his first 29 innings pitched, while striking out 38. Yamamoto has been tremendous against any level of competition, so he certainly shouldn’t struggle against this meager Pirates lineup. All things considered, let’s take the Under while it’s still sitting at the current number.

Pirates vs Dodgers prediction: Under 7 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

You can bet on our Pirates vs Dodgers pick with BetMGM, where right now new users can activate your new BetMGM account ⚡ and receive $150 in bonus bets INSTANTLY if your first $10+ wager is a winner!