MLB
Pirates Finish Road Trip In San Diego
The Pirates head to San Diego to take on the Padres. Pirates will finish their road trip in San Diego.
The San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres come into the series against Pirates losers of 4 out of 5 games to divisional opponents Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies. Additionally, during that stretch, the Padres were outscored 16-33 in those games. Currently, the Padres are in the middle of the pack of the NL West standings with a current record of 22-21 a game above .500. Likewise, the Padres sit a game above .500 at home with a record of 10-11. On the other hand, the Padres are 4-6 in their last ten games.
The Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates continue a West Coast road trip that will make its final pit stop in San Diego. The Pirates head into this series losers of three of their last seven ball games. However, the Pirates have been outscored 47-28 in that span. Currently, the Pirates are in fourth place in their division with a record of 21-19 and 9-15 six games below .500 on the road. However, the Pirates are 6-4 in their last ten games.
The Series
Beginning tonight, the Padres and Pirates will square off for the first time this season. The Pirates don’t have historic success on the west coast. Overall, the entire series has a record of 258-224 in favor of the San Diego Padres.
Last Season
Last season, The Padres won the season series 4-3. However, the Pirates were outscored 30-33 in those seven games.
Pitching Match-Ups
This series will feature four pitching match-ups. The first match-up will take place on Thursday night when the Pirates send RHP Trevor Williams (2-1, 3.40 ERA, 37 strikeouts). The Padres will oppose Williams with LHP Eric Lauer (2-4, 5.75 ERA, 35 strikeouts). This game is a homecoming for Williams who was born in San Diego. In Williams last start against the Cardinals, Williams threw seven strong innings and only allowed one run. On the other hand, when it came to his last start in San Diego, Williams allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings. For the Padres Eric Lauer, his last outing against the Rockies was one he would rather forget. In three innings Lauer allowed eight runs. To make matters worse, Lauer hasn’t made the six-inning plateau this season. More so, Lauer, last year was known for getting whiffs on his slider which is something he’s not getting this season.
In game two on Friday, the Pirates will send RHP Jordan Lyles (3-1, 2.09 ERA, 35 strikeouts) who has been one of the Pirates best pitchers thus far. For the Padres, they’ll counteract with LHP Joey Lucchesi (3-2, 4.57 ERA, 40 strikeouts). In game three on Saturday, It’s unclear of whom the Pirates will pitch. Projected for the Padres is LHP Nick Margevicius (2-4, 4.14 ERA, 31 strikeouts). Lastly, in game four on Sunday, the Pirates are projected to send RHP Joe Musgrove (2-4, 3.59 ERA, 40 strikeouts). On the other hand, it’s unclear at this moment who the Padres will counteract with.
Conclusion
The Pirates last pit stop on this road trip is in San Diego. Once completed, the Pirates will return home to PNC Park where they’ll take on more NL West teams.
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Written by Tom Johnston
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Photo Credit to Pirates via Twitter
