Pittsburgh will try to snap a five-game losing streak when it travels to Philadelphia on Friday night. The Pirates were overwhelmed in their three-game series against Atlanta earlier this week, getting outscored 22-4 in the series. Philadelphia was aiming for a four-game sweep against Cincinnati on Thursday night—this story was published prior to that game.
Pittsburgh was by no means one of the better teams in baseball during the first half of the season, but the Pirates have found a way to regress drastically since the All-Star break. They have only won eight games during the second half of the season and are entering this series on a five-game losing streak. Their most recent series was one of their worst of the year, as they were outscored 22-4 in three games against Atlanta. Pittsburgh was blown out in a 14-2 decision to wrap up that series on Wednesday. The Pirates are now hitting the road for a six-game trip after playing their last nine games at PNC Park.
Oneil Cruz hit this 122.4 mph ??
That's the hardest hit ball in the Statcast era!!! pic.twitter.com/soAi7qKaCE
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 24, 2022
They are one of the worst offensive teams in baseball, ranked No. 29 in batting average (.220). Center fielder Bryan Reynolds leads the team with 101 hits, including 20 home runs, while third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has 100 base knocks. They will be facing a Philadelphia pitching staff that is No. 10 with an ERA of 3.77. Right-handed pitcher Bryse Wilson is going to be on the mound for Pittsburgh in this game. He allowed three runs on five hits across seven innings in a win over Cincinnati last Friday. Wilson completed seven frames for the first time in his career and lowered his season ERA to 5.74. All three of the runs he allowed in that game came via home runs.