Pittsburgh will try to bounce back from a shutout loss against Houston when it opens a four-game series in St. Louis on Thursday night. The Pirates split the first two games of their series against the Astros before losing 7-0 on Wednesday. St. Louis notched a series victory in Colorado with wins on Tuesday and Wednesday after dropping the opener.
Pittsburgh raced out to a surprising 5-2 start to the season after it was one of the worst teams in the MLB last year. The Pirates swept a three-game series at Fenway Park during that stretch, and they proceeded to win two out of three against the White Sox in their following series. They dropped two out of three against Houston earlier this week though, falling in a 7-0 shutout to wrap up the series on Wednesday. Pittsburgh is now hitting the road for a seven-game trip that concludes with three games in Colorado next week. The Pirates have struggled with consistency at the plate, ranked No. 26 in team batting average (.228).
Bat Flip: Level Expert pic.twitter.com/Kekh4fBCxE
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 12, 2023
Left fielder Bryan Reynolds leads Pittsburgh with 16 hits, five home runs and 14 RBI, batting .356 through his first 45 at-bats. Veteran designated hitter Andrew McCutchen has added 10 hits and three RBI since returning to Pittsburgh during the offseason. They are facing a St. Louis pitching staff that is No. 22 in team ERA (5.06). Right-handed pitcher Vince Velasquez is expected to start for the Pirates on Thursday night. He allowed three earned runs on five hits across 4.2 innings at Cincinnati in his first start before getting hammered for five runs on six hits in just 2.2 frames against the White Sox. Velasquez sprained his left ankle against Chicago, but the X-rays were negative, and he is expected to start this game.