The Pirates begin the weekend in third place in the NL Central Division, a game behind the Cardinals and seven-and-a-half behind the first-place Brewers. They are also a half-game behind the Padres and Diamondbacks for the third Wild Card spot in the National League. Tonight, they begin a three-game series against a top contender in the American League, a team which has had a disappointing first half of the season.
Joe Block previews the game.
The Pirates have a 10-7 record this month and have won three of their last four games and four of their past five series, winning game one of each series. Bryan Reynolds has a 17-game hitting streak and is batting .343 this month, which also happens to be his career batting average in the month of June. He has three home runs, seven doubles, and ten runs driven in 70 at-bats.
The Bucs have not named a starter, but it could be an opener, with Carmen Mlodzinski or Josh Fleming the most likely candidates. Both of them filled that role last week with Luis Ortiz getting the bulk of the innings in relief. There is also a possibility that the team could activate Martín Perez this weekend and manager Derek Shelton could reshape his rotation, with Jared Jones and Paul Skenes also taking a turn, possibly separated by Perez rather than going with two power pitchers back to back.
Tampa Bay is expected to start right-hander Ryan Pepiot (4-4, 4.57 ERA).
MLB
A reminder of how risky it is to not have depth in a pitching rotation – (if you needed a reminder, with the Pirates currently playing without starters Perez, Marco Gonzalez, and Quinn Priester) – Brewers rookie phenom Robert Gasser is out for the year and will have Tommy John surgery on Monday. He hasn’t pitched since June 1st and may have been able to work his way back from a left flexor tendon injury without the surgery, but opted for the surgery for his long-term wellbeing. He was 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in five starts this season.
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