Pirates

Pirates Preview: Bucs Need Bounce Back After Friday’s Blown Game

Published

2 months ago

July 27, 2024

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Marco Gonzales throws during the first inning of an opening day baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Despite building an early three-run lead, the Pittsburgh Pirates were defeated 4-3 by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the opening game of the series on Friday night.

Joshua Palacios and Andrew McCutchen built the early lead by Arizona rallied off of Luis Ortiz and Carmen Mlodzinski to storm back and beat the Bucs.

The Pirates (52-51) will look to even their weekend series against the Diamondbacks (54-50) in another matchup at Chase Field on Saturday night.

First pitch is set for 8:10 ET and the game will be aired on SportsNet Pittsburgh.

Weather

It’s a good thing Chase Field is protected by a roof. Temperatures in Phoenix are expected to reach 107 degrees on Saturday.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Will Send Out LHP Marco Gonzales (1-1, 2.70 ERA)

Gonzales pitched well in his last start against the Philadelphia but took the loss. In 4.2 innings, he allowed a pair of runs and struck out four batters.

The left-hander has made a pair of starts since returning from the injured list with a forearm strain. Combined between those two outings, Gonzales has allowed three runs in 9.2 innings and has struck out eight batters.

Gonzales is throwing his cutter significantly more than he did last season and his changeup has been a particularly effective pitch.

In four career appearances against Arizona, Gonzales is a perfect 3-0 with a 4.20 ERA.

The Arizona Diamondbacks Will Send Out RHP Brandon Pfaadt (4-6, 3.74)

After bursting onto the season in the NLCS last year, Pfaadt is having a strong season with the Diamondbacks in 2024.

Pfaadt has not allowed a run over his past two starts — a span of 13 innings — had has a stellar 0.77 ERA over his last four starts. In 23.1 innings over those four outings, Pfaadt has held opponents to a .191 batting average against with only one home run allowed and 25 strikeouts.

The right-hander’s most frequent offering is his four-seam fastball which he throws 35% of the time. His deep arsenal also includes a sweeper, sinker, changeup and curveball.

Pfaadt faced the Pirates last season and allowed three runs on six hits in 5.1 innings.

Diamondbacks Hitters vs. Gonzales

Randal Grichuk: 3 for 7, one double, one strikeout
Christian Walker: 0 for 6
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: 1 for 5, one strikeout
Ketel Marte: 1 for 4, one home run, one RBI, two walks
Gabriel Moreno: 1 for 3
Kevin Newman: 1 for 3

Pirates Hitters vs. Pfaadt

Ke’Bryan Hayes: 1 for 3, one triple, three RBIs
Andrew McCutchen: 1 for 3
Jack Suwinski: 0 for 3, one strikeout

Tidbits

Andrew McCutchen’s RBI double was his 1,638th hit with the Pirates. That ties him with Fred Clarke for the 10th-most hits all-time in franchise history.
Luis Ortiz (3er/5ip) allowed more runs in Friday’s start than he did in his first four starts of the year (2er/24.2ip).
The Pirates fell to 35-16 when scoring first after losing to the Diamondbacks.