8-2-24 – By Michael Castrignano– – @412DoublePlay on X
Heading back home after a solid road trip, the Pirates will look to gain ground on one of the teams whom they just faced and who still sits just ahead of them in the playoff race in the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Arizona has been on a TEAR lately, winning 17 of 25 games in July – including 7 of their last 8 – and shows no signs of slowing down. On the other hand, the Pirates have done well this month (winning 15 of 25), added some critical offensive pieces via trade this past week and still has a rotation which is among the best in baseball. And that rotation matches up much better this time around against the Snakes.
8/2
Diamondbacks – Brandon Pfaadt (R) –5-6, 126.1 IP, 3.92 ERA, 115 Ks/27 walks, 1.11 WHIP
Pirates – Luis Ortiz (R) – 5-2, 78.2 IP, 2.75 ERA, 63 Ks/24 walks, 1.14 WHIP
8/3
Diamondbacks – Jordan Montgomery (L) –7-5, 74.2 IP, 6.51 ERA, 48 Ks/27 walks, 1.69 WHIP
Pirates – Mitch Keller (R) – 10-5, 128.1 IP, 3.30 ERA, 114 Ks/34 walks, 1.21 WHIP
8/4
Diamondbacks – Ryne Nelson (R) –8-6, 105.1 IP, 4.53 ERA, 79 Ks/26 walks, 1.36 WHIP
Pirates – Paul Skenes (R) – 6-1, 80.2 IP, 1.90 ERA, 103 Ks/16 walks, 0.90 WHIP
Diamondbacks:
Eugenio Suárez – After starting the season with a 68 wRC+ and .196/.279/.312 slash line over 315 plate appearances through the end of June, Suarez had one of the best months in baseball: .333/.398/.733 line with 10 home runs over 103 July plate appearances. Definitely a bat to watch out for this weekend.
Pirates:
Joey Bart – Bart has slowly transitioned into being the C1 for the Pirates once more with a BIG home run in the Astros series, part of a 5-for-13 series and another in an excellent month of production from the backstop. Bart posted a 130 wRC+ over 67 July plate appearances with a .276/.358/.466 slash line. Not bad, Bart.
Diamondbacks:
Paul Sewald – Sewald allowed a single earned run over 16.2 innings in May and June but surrendered 12 over 10 innings in July, blowing 4 saves in that time. This ineffectiveness likely spurred the management to acquire A.J. Puk and Dylan Floro to provide other options at the back-end of the pen but something to keep an eye on this weekend.
Pirates:
Oneil Cruz – I hate to pile on but MAN, was his series in Houston ROUGH as he went 1-for-13, struck out 9 times and committed 5 errors – including 3 costly ones in the loss on Wednesday night. That said, the concerns over Cruz’s play, both at the plate and on the awful dirt of Minute Maid Park, are overblown. He got in his head a bit and, hopefully, he can get back to blasting balls into the Allegheny again this weekend.
Key Injuries
Diamondbacks:
Christian Walker (left oblique strain) hitting the IL this past week is a DEVASTATING blow to this team’s offense. They were able to add Josh Bell from the Marlins to temporarily try to replace his production.
Pirates:
Nick Gonzales (left groin discomfort) and Carmen Mlodzinski (right shoulder strain) are two big losses suffered this past week. Additionally, Joshua Palacios (left hamstring strain) hit the IL this week and Jared Jones (right lat strain) is still working his way back.
Team Notes
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a distant cousin of Pirates legend Ralph Kiner, will likely play his first home game in Pittsburgh where a plaque bears his famous name. This sport is a weird game but man, how can you not be romantic about baseball?
Let’s Go Bucs!
Steel City Pirates 