Pittsburgh will play the second game of its three-game series at Baltimore on Saturday night. The Pirates entered the series with some momentum after a surprising sweep against Milwaukee, while the Orioles were coming off a sweep at Texas. This story was published prior to Friday night’s series opener.
Pittsburgh was one of the worst teams in the MLB during the first half of the season, entering the All-Star break 15 games under the .500 mark. The Pirates maintained that poor form in their first few series after the break, losing eight of their first nine games. Their disastrous run made their series sweep against Milwaukee earlier this week that much more surprising. Pittsburgh closed the series with a 5-4 win in 10 innings on Thursday, wrapping up a seven-game homestand. The Pirates are not going to make the playoffs this year, though, as they are 14 games back of the final National League Wild Card spot.
A wild ending to the series. pic.twitter.com/8y1f3qNCVP
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 4, 2022
They have struggled to get anything going at the plate, ranked No. 29 in team batting average (.221). Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes leads the way with 90 hits, while center fielder Bryan Reynolds has 84 hits. They will be facing a Baltimore pitching staff that is No. 13 with an ERA of 3.88. Right-handed pitcher JT Brubaker is expected to be on the mound for Pittsburgh on Saturday night. He is coming off a terrible start, allowing seven runs on 12 hits across 4.1 innings against Philadelphia. Brubaker saw his ERA jump from 3.96 to 4.40 in what was his shortest start since June 3.