The Pittsburgh Pirates say goodbye to a brutal road run for a head-to-head showdown with the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. Boston stood strong and fended off the New York Yankees at Fenway Park in a three-game series over the weekend. Now, they’ll be going on the road to take on a Pirates team currently on a four-game losing streak. The Red Sox are expected to start right-handed pitcher Nick Pivetta in this matchup opposite of Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller.
On Sunday, Michael Wacha stepped right into the fire in a finale against the New York Yankees. It was the first time he’d stepped on a big-league mound since June 28.
And he was absolutely flawless.
The Yankees couldn’t even muster a single run, and the Red Sox held on for the 3-0 victory. Now, it’s time for Boston to show they can do more than just pester New York. They’re two victories away from being at .500 win percentage. It’s an incredible turnaround for a team that’s ranked dead last in the AL East division.
But inconsistent play has bedeviled this Red Sox team. They can’t just turn around and go back to their same sad defensive ways against the Pirates in this game. It would be easy to just coast considering the Pirates are the third-worst run-scoring team in the league. There isn’t a lot th at’s offered at the plate from this Pirates team, and it should only add to the confidence of Nick Pivetta on the mound. The starting righty is throwing a 4.51 ERA with an 8-9 record on the season. Confidence is something that’s seriously needed in this game considering Pivetta is getting pounded at the plate with hits.
There isn’t a lot of familiarity with these being two interleague teams. So the Red Sox have to be careful of an upset.