(File Photo: Source for Photo: Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blake Snell threw six scoreless innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers won their sixth straight game by easing past the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 on Sunday.

Snell (2-1) has won consecutive starts and the Dodgers have been victorious in each of his three appearances in August after missing three months because of surgery to remove loose bodies in his left elbow. He allowed two hits and three walks on a sweltering afternoon at Dodger Stadium, but still had enough to end his outing with a 97 mph fastball for his sixth strike out.

Alek Thomas, Hunter Feduccia and Max Muncy had an RBI for the Dodgers, who have bounced back since manager Dave Roberts called them out for sustained inconsistent play a week ago.

The Pirates have dropped eight of their past nine road games. Lake Bachar (1-3) started a bullpen game and allowed one run in two innings, and Carmen Mlodzinski gave up three runs in three innings.

Shohei Ohtani put the Dodgers ahead 1-0 after drawing a leadoff walk on 11 pitches despite falling behind 0-2 in the count.

Thomas and Feduccia extended the lead with consecutive two-out RBI singles in the fourth inning.

It was the second hit and second RBI in five games with the Dodgers for Thomas, who was acquired from Arizona in a trade in May. He is starting in center field for the time being after All-Star Andy Pages fractured his left hand on a hit by pitch Friday.

Up next

Pirates: RHP Braxton Ashcraft (13-5, 3.68 ERA) will be on the mound to start a three-game series at the San Diego Padres on Monday night.

Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 2.72 ERA) is set to take the opener of a three-game series at the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night. Glasnow has not pitched since May 6 because of back spasms.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal, right, gestures as Pittsburgh Pirates’ Henry Davis flies out during the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The NL West leaders won their fifth in a row and ninth in 12 games with their 37th comeback win of the season.

After a rough first inning in which he trailed 3-0, Skubal (8-7) settled down and retired 20 of his final 23 batters. The left-hander allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings with one walk. His strikeouts were one off his season high and two off his career best.

Tanner Scott retired the side in the ninth to earn his 19th save.

Skubal was 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA in his first three starts with the Dodgers, who acquired the two-time Cy Young Award winner in a blockbuster deal with the Detroit Tigers ahead of the trade deadline earlier this month.

Tucker snapped an 0 for 25 skid at home with his two-run RBI to right, giving the Dodgers their first lead, 4-3. Mookie Betts got hit by reliever Yohan Ramírez to open the inning and Max Muncy followed with a double to set up Tucker, who again received encouraging applause from the sellout crowd of 53,417.

The Pirates had the tying run on third in the eighth after Esmerlyn Valdez doubled off reliever Evan Phillips. Pinch-runner Billy Cook took third on a passed ball by catcher Ben Rortvedt. Jack Dreyer came in and got Cruz on a called third strike to end the threat.

Yohan Ramirez (6-4) took the loss in relief.

After three hitless innings, the Dodgers finally got to Pirates starter Jared Jones in the fourth. Teoscar Hernández and newly called up Alek Thomas had back-to-back RBI singles that pulled them within 3-2.

The Pirates jumped on Skubal in the first, taking a 3-0 lead. Oneil Cruz had a two-run triple — his first of the season — to right and Rafael Flores Jr. followed with an RBI groundout to second.

Jones gave up two runs and three hits in four innings while striking out five and walking five.

Pirates reliever Camilo Doval pitched one inning of scoreless relief in the sixth before being ejected.

Up next

The Pirates will start RHP Lake Bachar (1-2, 3.75) in Sunday’s series finale against Dodgers LHP Blake Snell (1-1, 3.60).

(File Photo: Source for Photo: New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) greets teammates before an NFL preseason football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Geno Smith’s left ankle appears to be just fine. So much so that a one-drive cameo is all the New York Jets quarterback might need to get ready for the regular season.

The veteran quarterback, reunited with the team that drafted him back in 2013, completed all seven of his passes for 65 yards, the last 13 coming on a flip to tight end Jelani Woods for a touchdown in what became a 17-0 exhibition victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday night.

Smith, who sat out New York’s preseason opener to give his aching ankle a break, showed a little mobility when rushed and needed just 10 plays to take the Jets (1-1) 69 yards on their opening possession.

“It felt good to be out there with the guys,” Smith said. “Obviously we got one drive in, but we scored a touchdown. You always want to start fast, and so that was a good thing. Definitely a lot of room for improvement.”

Asked what those things might be, Smith demurred.

“I’ll keep that to myself,” said Smith, who played for the Jets from 2013 to 2016 and was acquired from Las Vegas in March.

New York coach Aaron Glenn was a little more expansive, pointing to a running game that managed just 62 yards, 16 of them coming on a scramble by rookie quarterback Cade Klubnik.

“I know (the Steelers), they pride themselves on stopping the run, but that’s not a pass for us,” Glenn said. “But we got to get better in that aspect, and we will.”

Klubnik, battling to be Smith’s backup when the season opens, completed 10 of 15 passes for 75 yards. Bailey Zappe threw for 68 yards and Brady Cook’s one completion was a 31-yard lob that Quincy Skinner cradled for a late touchdown.

The Jets defense produced pressure and turnovers

New York’s defense, a major weakness during a 3-14 slog in 2025, kept young Pittsburgh quarterbacks Will Howard and Drew Allar in check. Jets rookie edge rusher David Bailey, the second overall pick in this year’s draft, dropped Howard for an 11-yard loss in the first quarter.

Perhaps even more promising for New York, the defense also found a way to catch the ball, something that didn’t happen at all during the regular season a year ago when the Jets became the first team since the NFL started tracking the statistic in 1933 to go an entire year without a single pick.

New York intercepted Howard twice in the first half with the Steelers (1-1) driving in New York territory. Andre Cisco stepped in front of a poor pass by Howard intended for Roman Wilson and raced 23 yards the other way. Samuel Womack made a nice grab on a ball again intended for Wilson on Pittsburgh’s next drive.

Glenn deflected when asked about feeling any sense of relief seeing a couple of passes end up in the hands of players in green and white.

“Man, there’s so much noise on the outside that it’s really good to see our guys just focus on the now,” he said. “And they’re trained to do that, and it’s hard sometimes, but I’m really proud of how our guys respond to that and continue to work.”

Young Steelers QBs come back to earth after hot debuts

Howard and Allar, given the entirety of the workload while starter Aaron Rodgers and longtime backup Mason Rudolph took the night off, failed to reproduce the fireworks that marked their impressive performances a week ago.

The duo who combined to lead four touchdown drives against the Packers failed to reach the end zone even once against the Jets.

Howard got the start and completed 10 of 15 passes for 75 yards, his most impressive moment coming on a 15-yard third-down connection with Ben Skowronek in which he stepped up in the pocket to avoid pressure before finding Skowronek over the middle.

That moment, however, was overshadowed by a pair of throws that ended up in the hands of the Jets on a night the former sixth-round pick looked very much like the project that he is.

“We can’t let this trip us up going forward,” Howard said. “We have to continue to make strides. And we didn’t really make any strides tonight.”

Allar, taken in the third round this year, avoided turning the ball over but wasn’t quite as electrifying as he was last week. His best moment came on a 39-yard connection with Lake McCree in which Allar went through his progressions before floating the ball to an open McCree down the sideline. Allar finished 11 of 23 for 110 yards.

Jets newcomer Nate Lynn shines with a pair of sacks

It didn’t help either quarterback that the protection in front of them was shaky most of the night. The Steelers allowed four sacks, including two to recently signed edge rusher Nate Lynn, who spent 2024 with the Detroit when Glenn was serving as the club’s defensive coordinator.

Injuries

Jets cornerback Tre Brown was helped off the field in the second quarter, but he returned.

Up next

Jets: Host MetLife Stadium roommates the New York Giants on Aug. 28.

Steelers: Travel to Buffalo on Aug. 27.