The Pirates have played back-to-back series against the two teams with the best records in baseball, and have lost five out of six to the Braves and Dodgers.
Greg Brown has the story of last night’s loss to LA.
After two tough series against baseball’s winningest teams, the Pirates face an up-and-comer in their next series, starting tonight. The Bucs will send Braxton Ashcraft (5-3, 3.28 ERA) to the mound against the Marlins’ ex-Cy Young Award winner, Sandy Alcantara (5-4, 4.33 ERA). Airtime is 6:15 with first pitch at 6:40 on WCCS. The Marlins have won five in a row, including back-to-back shutouts of the Diamondbacks Wednesday and Thursday.
Outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez was recalled from Indianapolis yesterday and infielder Davis Wendzel was sent down. Valdez started in right field and was 0-for-2 before Tyler Callihan pinch-hit for him.
Pirates.com reports that right-handed pitcher Antwone Kelly will be called up from Indy to help the bullpen today. Kelly is rated the team’s number seven prospect by MLB Pipeline. He has an ERA of 4.50 in thirteen appearances this season at Triple-A, but a 3.28 ERA in his last ten outings.
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