MLB
Pirates Open Season
Baseball fans are anxious for this upcoming Thursday. The baseball season finally begins. The Pirates open season on the road at Cincinnati diving right into NL Central play.
Opening Series
The Pirates and Reds will clash for a weekend opener that will be pivotal for the rest of the season. In fact, the Pirates first 12 games of the season will be against NL Central opponents. To be exact: the Reds in two different series, the Cardinals to open up at home followed by the Cubs.
Pitching Match-Ups
In Game One, the Pirates’ will go with starter Jameson Taillon and the Reds will go with Luis Castillo.
Pirates Off-Season
The Pirates’ weren’t all that busy besides buying out Josh Harrison and letting go of Jordy Mercer then signing Lonnie Chisenhall and resigning Jung Ho Kang for less money. Some upgrades via pitching in Jordan Lyles.
Reds Off-Season
The Reds made some surprising moves this off-season acquiring both Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig from the Dodgers. The Reds also acquired Alex Wood.
Pirates Batters Against Castillo
There are two batters for the Pirates that have found some success against Castillo. Cory Dickerson and Colin Moran. Dickerson has a .300 batting average in 9 at-bats. Moran has a .500 batting average with 6 at-bats, one home run, and four RBIs.
Reds Batters Against Taillon
there are a plethora of Reds that have found success against Taillon. Tucker Barnhart has had 20 at-bats, hitting .300 with one RBI. Jose Iglesisas is also a .500 hitter but only has two at-bats. Jose Peraza is another Red who has a .500 batting average against Taillon is 24 at-bats, one home-run and two RBIs. Lastly, Yusiel Puig is a .500 hitter with 4 career at-bats against Taillon. Jesse Winker is a career .444 hitter against Taillon in nine at-bats with one home-run and two RBIs.
Pirates On Opening Day
The Pittsburgh Pirates have an overall record of 9 wins and 60 losses and have used 71 Opening Day starting pitchers.
Conclusion
The Pirates and Reds have had some history recently and some games have included brawls involving hit batsman among other things. The Pirates payroll ranks second to last as the Reds payroll ranks at No. 15 in the majors. The Pirates are usually good in the season opener.
Photo Credit to Sports Crazy via Flickr
