5-28-24 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on X
The Pirates are coming off a really nice series, taking 2 of 3 from the Atlanta Braves and now they enter a 2 game set against a completely not made up in any way “rivalry” series with the Buccos MLB designated rival while throwing Jared Jones and Paul Skenes. Detroit isn’t exactly tossing slouches out there though, and in Comerica Ballpark, there’s every chance these are two low scoring affairs.
5-28
Tigers – Tarik Skubal (L) – 6-1, 60 IP, 2.25 ERA, 72 Ks/10 walks, 0.85 WHIP
Pirates – Jared Jones (R) – 3-4, 59 IP, 3.05 ERA, 68 Ks/10 walks, 0.97 WHIP
5-29
Tigers – Jack Flaherty (R) – 1-4, 61 IP, 3.84 ERA,81 Ks/9 walks, 1.33 WHIP
Pirates – Paul Skenes (R) – 1-0, 16 IP, 2.25 ERA, 21 Ks/4 walks, 1.00 WHIP
Tigers:
Kerry Carpenter has been on fire. In his last 15 games, 5 HR, .333 Average and an .844 SLG. In that stretch he’s getting on base at a .380 clip and in his last 7 an even more insane .435.
Pirates:
Andrew McCutchen, man that feels good to write in this category. In his past 15 games he’s hit 4 homeruns, good for a .295 AVG, on base of .386 and a SLG of .508. He’s really just clicked at the leadoff spot and hey, I’ll take it for as long as he wants to do it.
Tigers:
Wenceel Perez has some pretty impressive numbers for the season, certainly for a rookie. He’s really fallen off though in his last couple weeks of work. In his previous 7 contests he’s hitting .192 with a .192 SLG. All the vibes of a league pushing back on a kid, but again, if you’re the Pirates, just hope you get out of town keeping him quiet.
Pirates:
Michael Taylor has just been non-existent at the plate for a while. In his past 30 he’s slashing .151/.213/.205, and if that isn’t bad enough, recency bias of the past 7 looks like this .083/.143/.083. Nobody expected Taylor to hit a bunch here, but this is below the line even for him.
Key Injuries
Ke’Bryan Hayes could return during this road trip, and it would appear the Bucs are leaning toward not sending him on a rehab assignment. It might actually be more interesting than just getting the player back, the moves that it spawns. Will his return finally spell the end for Tellez or will Jared Triolo be sent to AAA to work on his stick?
What To Watch
Elite pitching matchups. This is really a marquee slate for pitching lovers and these teams are more similar than you might think. They’ve got some pitching, they have struggles offensively yet have some pieces too and they both play in a division that probably figures to produce the lowest seed of their respective division winning playoff combatants.
Steel City Pirates 