Pirates Preview: Bucs Try to Avoid Sweep in Early Game

It will be early to rise Sunday when the Pittsburgh Pirates host the San Francisco Giants at 12:05 p.m. in the finale of a three-game series at PNC Park.

The early start time is to accommodate Peacock, which will stream the game.

Rookie right-hander Osvaldo Bido (1-1, 4.44) will start for the Pirates against left-hander Alex Wood (4-3 4.68) as they try to avoid being swept in the series. The Giants (51-41) won 3-1 on Saturday night to run their winning streak to four games and drop the Pirates (41-51) to 2-9 in July as Michael Conforto hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning.

Bido notched his first career major-league win last Sunday in the first relief outing following five starts. He pitched 1.1 scoreless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix and allowed one hit with no walks or strikeouts.

This will be Bido’s first career appearance against the Giants. He has started twice at PNC Park and is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA and has a 1-0 record and 2.57 ERA in two games (one start) in the day.

Wood’s last outing came as a bulk pitcher last Saturday when he threw five scoreless innings to beat the Colorado Rockies in Denver. He surrendered three hits, struck out three and walked one.

This will be Wood’s 16^th career appearance and 15^th start against the Pirates. He is 6-4 with a 3.72 ERA against them.

Wood is 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA on the road this season in seven games (four starts). In the daylight, he has a 1-2 record and a 7.65 ERA in five games (four starts).

Connor Joe is 6 for 14 (.429) with a home run off Wood and Bryan Reynolds is 6 for 15 (.40i0) with two doubles but Austin Hedges is 1 for 11 (.091).

This will be the final game between the teams in 2023 and the Giants lead the season series 3-2. They are 8-3 combined against the Pirates over the last two seasons.