Pirates

Pirates Preview: Battle of the Keystone State Starts Friday

Published

2 months ago

May 16, 2025

Photo provided by Matt Lynch

The Pittsburgh Pirates were off on Thursday but salvaged their series with the New York Mets on Wednesday night with a 4-0 win.

Matt Gorski and Jared Triolo each hit two-run home runs while five pitchers combined to shutout New York.

The road trip continues for the Pirates (15-29) who are in Philadelphia for the start of a three-game series with the Phillies (25-18) on Friday night.

First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh and 93.7 The Fan.

Weather

Some possible showers earlier in the day should give way to cloudy skies for game time. Temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s with winds S at 6 to 8 mph.

LHP Andrew Heaney (2-3, 3.15 ERA) Will Start for the Pirates

Heaney had a nice bounce-back outing in his last start on Saturday when he held the Braves to two runs in 6.0 innings pitched.

In two starts before his most recent, Heaney combined to allow eight runs in 8.1 innings with seven walks and only three strikeouts.

Heaney ranks 10th among National League starters with a .210 batting average against. He’s also 14th with a 1.12 ERA.

The veteran left-hander has only made two starts against the Phillies in his career and is 0-2 with an 8.64 ERA.

LHP Ranger Suárez (1-0, 5.91 ERA) Will Start for the Phillies

Suárez is back with the Phillies after missing the start of the season with a back injury.

The left-hander struggled in his season debut when he allowed seven runs in 3.2 innings against the Diamondbacks, but he threw 7.0-shutout innings against Cleveland in his second start of the year on Saturday.

Suárez was an All-Star with the Phillies last season when he went 12-8 with a 3.46 ERA in 27 starts.

Suárez has dominated the Pirates in seven previous matchups, four of which were starts. Entering play on Friday, he’s a perfect 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA,

Phillies Hitters vs. Heaney

Max Kepler: 1 for 9, one double, two walks, one strikeout
Nick Castellanos: 6 for 8, one double, one strikeout
Kyle Schwarber: 2 for 3, one RBI
Bryce Harper: 1 for 3, one walk, two strikeouts
Edmundo Sosa: 2 for 2, one double
J.T. Realmuto: 1 for 2, one home run, one RBI, one walk

Pirates Hitters vs. Suárez

Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 11, four strikeouts
Ke’Bryan Hayes: 2 for 10, one RBI, three walks, one strikeout
Andrew McCutchen: 3 for 7, two doubles, one RBI, one walk, four strikeouts
Henry Davis: 2 for 5, two RBI
Jared Triolo: 1 for 4, one walk, one strikeout

Tidbits

The Pirates have now gone 20-straight games of scoring four or fewer runs, the longest such stretch in franchise history.
Alexander Canario extended his hitting streak to six games on Wednesday. He’s batting .428 (9 for 17) during that span. Canario also has hits in nine of his 10 games played this month.
The Pirates haven’t won a series in Philadelphia since taking three of four games in 2017.