8-19-24 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter
Two teams that still have a winning record within reach, two teams that probably have lost the dream of making the playoffs in 2024.
The Rangers have struggled with pitching, the Pirates have struggled with offense. Neither are exactly where they want to be.
Let’s get in there…
8/19
Rangers – TBD
Pirates – Luis Ortiz (R) – 5-3, 95.0 IP, 3.41 ERA, 71 Ks/30 walks, 1.15 WHIP
8/20
Rangers – Cody Bradford (L) – 4-0, 36.0 IP, 3.50 ERA, 33 Ks/6 walks, 1.00 WHIP
Pirates – Mitch Keller (R) – 10-7, 141.1 IP, 3.95 ERA, 125 Ks/40 walks, 1.25 WHIP
8/21
Rangers – TBD
Pirates – TBD
Rangers:
Adolis Garcia has been heating up. In his last 15 games .345/.406/.552 with 3 homeruns. Looks a lot more like the guy who helped drag them through the playoffs last year than he has most of the season.
Pirates:
I’m going with Joey Bart. In his past 30 games, .301/.357/.583. 8 Homeruns, 23 RBI, he’s been the straw that stirs the drink for a minute here. Unbelievable story.
Rangers:
The Rangers called up Wyatt Langford quickly, and he’s had a fine rookie season for the most part. His last 30 games though, .188/.270/.286. He’s taken it on the chin and the league seems to have a very solid plan on how to attack him.
Pirates:
Connor Joe has fallen off a cliff. His past 15 games, .184/.225/.237 and it’s looked worse than that. His bat has taken him out of the outfield rotation and the team has been forced to play an injured Rowdy Tellez almost every game.
Key Injuries
Jacob DeGrom, Max Scherzer, Jon Gray, I mean they have 3/5 of a solid rotation on IR.
The Pirates just lost Marco Gonzales for the season, but they could be on the verge of getting Jared Jones back, although, he looked awful in his rehab start. Nick Gonzales and Joshua Palacios are out with strained stuff, groin and hamstring respectively. Its starting to look like wishful thinking to get any innings out of Ryan Borucki, even while we’ve heard him out on two rehab stints at this point.
Things to Look For
If the Pirates pitching shows up, they should win this series.
That’s really going to be the story. If the Pirates hit a little, and pitch the way they can, this shouldn’t be much of a series. The Rangers though are a team that could catch fire offensively at any time and rip off 7-10 wins quickly.
You just don’t want to be the unlucky team playing them when it starts.
Steel City Pirates 