Pirates need to get right as sneaky-good Arizona Diamondbacks slither into town
Share this post:
After the Pittsburgh Pirates won in Detroit 8-0 on Wednesday, there’s some hope that perhaps their bats are finally heating up. And right now, there may be no pitcher in baseball hotter than current Bucs ace Mitch Keller.
Both trends will have to continue this weekend as the Pirates welcome the surprisingly spry Arizona Diamondbacks to PNC Park for a three-game set.
Arizona comes to town at 25-19. That’s good enough for second in the National League West, third overall in the NL. That’s not bad for a franchise that had a win projection of just 74.5 games. As a point of reference, the Pirates were at 67.5 to start the season at most gambling outlets and are now 23-20.
So both teams are off to faster-than-expected starts. But the Diamondbacks are playing better of late. Arizona has won five of its past six contests. The only game they lost in that stretch was a 12-inning 9-8 affair in Oakland on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, despite winning two of their last three, the Pirates are just 3-11 this month and are currently 1½ games behind the DBacks for the top wild-card position in the N.L.
The biggest reason for Pittsburgh’s struggles of late has been a lack of quality hitting. In those 11 losses this month, the Pirates have scored three runs or fewer every time. Looking at statistics as of the start of league play Thursday night, the Pirates had fallen to 19th in team batting average in Major League Baseball (.242) and were 21st in runs (184).
Meanwhile, Arizona began the night with the National League’s best team batting average at .270 (third best in MLB). Their OPS was .773, fifth best in MLB and second best in the NL. Their run total of .227 and on-base percentage of .333 were both seventh best in the Majors.
Defensively, Arizona has also been good. They are fielding the ball at a .991 clip. That’s third best in all of baseball. Only two teams — the New York Mets (14) and San Diego Padres (11) — entered play Thursday with fewer errors than the DBacks’ total of 15. Both teams are being aggressive on the basepaths. The Pirates continue to lead MLB in stolen bases with 50. Arizona is in a three-way tie (Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays) for eighth with 34.
On the mound, the Pirates have generated better numbers. As of Thursday evening, the Pirates’ team ERA of 3.66 was sixth best in MLB. Arizona was at 4.52, good for just 22nd. The Pirates have yielded 171 runs, the fifth fewest in both leagues, whereas the Diamondbacks are 22nd at 211.
That said, the three pitchers that the Pirates will be facing are all coming off of good starts. Zac Gallen is 6-1 with a 2.35 ERA. He allowed just two earned runs in 7⅔ innings while beating the Giants 7-2 on Saturday.
More sports
• Steelers add again to O-line room, sign OT Dylan Cook
• Bullpen remains source of strength for Pirates during slump
• Tim Benz: Steelers rookies hope to prove they’re as versatile as scouting suggests
Saturday’s starter Brandon Pfaadt has an ERA of 8.59 over three starts. But he was good last time out, surrendering just one hit and one earned run en route to a no-decision during a 2-1 victory over the Giants. On Sunday, manager Torey Lovullo is expected to roll out Merrill Kelly. He has won three decisions in a row, most recently taking a 5-2 result in Oakland behind seven strong innings where he allowed one earned run while walking just one batter and striking out nine. In May, his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 25:3.
The Pirates will counter with Johan Oviedo on Friday. He hasn’t won a start since April 19 in Colorado. The right-hander walked five in five innings pitched against the Baltimore Orioles last Friday.
Keller pitches Saturday. He has turned in seven quality starts in nine outings this year. He’s working on a stretch of 16⅔ shutout innings. In his past two starts, Keller has amassed 21 strikeouts. He has 69 on the season. That’s fifth most in MLB, just one behind Gallen for fourth place.
Sunday’s starter for Bucs manager Derek Shelton is Roansy Contreras. After allowing nine earned runs in 10⅓ innings to start May, Contreras was better Saturday in Baltimore, yielding just two runs in seven innings pitched. Yet he absorbed the loss as the anemic Pirates were blanked 2-0.
So you probably have to lean toward Arizona with Gallen in the opener and toward the Pirates with Keller on Saturday. Sunday could be a coin flip if Contreras can replicate his last outing when he faces off against Kelly.
If the Pirates can take two of three against a worthy opponent that’s playing well like the DBacks, that’d be a good indication that maybe the early May swoon is behind them, and they can return to the competitive brand of baseball that had Pittsburgh buzzing for the first month of the season.
If not, buckle up for the Texas Rangers to open next week. They visit PNC Park for three games starting Monday at 26-17, the best record in the American League West.
TribLIVE’s Pirates writer Kevin Gorman talks with Tim Benz as they discuss the Pirates’ upcoming homestand against Arizona and Texas.