7-29-24 – By Drew Cagle – @cagles_bagels on X
Another pivotal series awaits the Pirates, this time in Houston against an Astros team that has found its footing. Following a disappointing series loss in Arizona, the Bucs will look to salvage the road trip with a series win in Space City.
Having not traveled to Minute Maid Park since 2019, the Pirates are (obviously) in a much different state than they were then. Heck, the starting trio of Trevor Williams, Dario Agrazal, and Joe Musgrove helped the team take 2 of 3 in that series.
Both the 2019 and 2024 teams begin the series in Houston hovering around .500, but the present-day iteration has serious postseason intentions even if we haven’t seen a trade yet to back them. A series loss at the hands of the Diamondbacks is far from ideal, but there’s no time for the Pirates to lick their wounds. The gauntlet of post-all star break games rolls on, against another postseason contender.
7-29
Pirates – Paul Skenes (R) – 6-1, 74.2 IP, 1.93 ERA, 97 Ks/13 walks, 0.87 WHIP
Astros – Jake Bloss (R) – 0-1, 11.2 IP, 6.94 ERA, 11 Ks/3 walks, 1.63 WHIP
7-30
Pirates – TBD
Astros – Hunter Brown (R) – 9-6, 110.1 IP, 4.00 ERA, 118 Ks/42 walks, 1.37 WHIP
7-31
Pirates – Martín Pérez (L) – 2-5, 83.0 IP, 5.20 ERA, 63 Ks/32 walks, 1.65 WHIP
Astros – Framber Valdez (L) – 9-5, 110.1 IP, 3.43 ERA, 98 Ks/38 walks, 1.26 WHIP
Pirates:
Cruz has been a bit up-and-down at the plate in the last week or so, but the ups have made the downs well worth it. A pair of tape measure homers in Arizona complimented an active 3-game hitting streak. Over his last 10 games, he’s slashed .325/.725/1.111, which has improved his season-wide OPS to a strong .777. Against right-handers Bloss and Brown in the first two games of the series, look for Cruz to continue his strong form at the plate.
Astros:
Coming off of a hot 6-for-12 series against the Dodgers over the weekend, Houston’s catcher has been as consistent as they come. He’s a reverse-splits guy, hitting .295 against right-handed pitching, and just .275 against lefties. Don’t expect much power from his bat (only 9 home runs), but with an OPS at .739 and average at .288, he can be a pesky bat in a star-studded Astros lineup.
Pirates:
Following a slow start that saw his batting average under .200 after one month, McCutchen turned it around with stronger months of May and June. July has done Cutch no favors, though, to the tune of a .197 average and .355 slugging percentage over the month. Getting him going in the leadoff spot could be extremely useful for this lineup.
Astros:
A walk-off home run on Saturday night was a high point for the 30-year old third baseman, but it’s been tough sledding at the back end of July. Over his last seven games, Bregman is 6-for-30 (a .214 average), though 2 of those 6 hits have been home runs. There doesn’t seem to be many times where he’s a guy you’d feel comfortable attacking, but this might be one of them.
Key Injuries
Pirates: Rookie Jared Jones (right lat strain) threw a bullpen session of 30 pitches on Saturday, and continues to make progress towards his return. He’s expected back in mid-August. Fellow starter Bailey Falter (left triceps tendonitis) has made strides as well, and “is healthy”, per manager Derek Shelton. Nick Gonzales hit the IL on Sunday following a groin issue, while Rowdy Tellez has been declared day-to-day after leaving Friday’s game with back spasms – though he did pinch hit in the 9th inning Sunday and is expected to play in Houston.
Astros: Houston has dealt with a bevy of injuries to pitchers, including season-enders to Cristian Javier, Oliver Ortega, and Jose Urquidy. Star outfielder Kyle Tucker is nearing a return from a shin injury, but won’t be available against Pittsburgh. Reliever Kendall Graveman is still a couple of weeks away after suffering a shoulder injury.
Things to Look For
The return of Bryan Reynolds could be the X-factor in this series. The Pirates were able to scratch out a win on Sunday, but largely struggled without their most capable hitter. This team desperately needs offense, as we all know. Reynolds and Cruz will likely need to shoulder the load, especially with the loss of Nick Gonzales.
The Bucs’ situational hitting will be of the utmost importance in this series. The Astros have committed the second-fewest errors in baseball (43), so they won’t be handing out many “free 90s” to the Pirates.
Another week, another critical series for the Pirates to climb the latter that is the National League wild card chase.
Steel City Pirates 