Pirates

Pirates Preview: Luis Ortiz Looks to End Strong Season on High Note

Published

2 weeks ago

September 25, 2024

The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped the series opener against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers by a score of 7-2 on Tuesday night.

Bailey Falter struggled on the mound, and despite outhitting Milwaukee 10-6, the Bucs went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base.

The Pirates (73-84) will look to rebound against the Brewers (90-67) on Wednesday night as Luis Ortiz will take the mound for his final start of the season.

First pitch is set for 6:40 ET and the game will be aired on SportsNet Pittsburgh.

Weather

Showers during the day should be done with by game time. Temperatures in the low-70s with winds SSE at 6-7 mph.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Will Send Out RHP Luis Ortiz (6-6, 3.43 ERA)

Though he didn’t get credited with the win, Ortiz had a solid showing against the Cardinals in St. Louis. He allowed two runs in six innings and matched a season-high with seven strikeouts.

Since he joined the Pirates’ rotation full-time on July 7, Ortiz opponents have hit .204 against him, tied for the sixth-lowest opponents batting average in the National League.

14 of Ortiz’s 36 appearances on the season have come as a starting pitcher. In those 14 starts, Ortiz is 3-4 with a 3.39 ERA.

Ortiz made two relief appearances against the Brewers earlier in the season and allowed two runs across 4.2 innings. He’s 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA in four career appearances against them.

The Milwaukee Brewers Will Send Out RHP Freddy Peralta (11-8, 3.69 ERA)

It’s been another strong season for Peralta, who has allowed two runs in 10 combined innings with 14 strikeouts between his last two starts.

Peralta enters play on Wednesday needing seven more strikeouts to reach 200 for the second-consecutive season.

The right-hander relies on his four-seam fastball, which he throws 54% of the time. He also throws a slider, a devastating changeup and a curveball.

Peralta made one start against the Pirates this season in April and struggled. He allowed five runs on five hits in 4.2 innings. In 21 career appearances against the Bucs, Peralta is 2-1 with a 3.56 ERA.

Brewers Hitters vs. Ortiz

William Contreras: 4 for 7, two triples, two RBIs, one walk, one strikeout
Sal Frelick: 2 for 5, one double, one walk, one strikeout
Willy Adames: 0 for 5, three walks, three strikeouts
Andruw Monasterio: 2 for 3, one strikeout

Pirates Hitters vs. Peralta

Bryan Reynolds: 12 for 28, one double, one triple, one home run, three RBIs, four walks, nine strikeouts
Andrew McCutchen: 5 for 12, two doubles, one home run, two RBIs, four strikeouts
Bryan De La Cruz: 3 for 12, one home run, four RBIs, three strikeouts
Joshua Palacios: 0 for 7, two strikeouts
Jared Triolo: 1 for 5, one RBI, one strikeout
Oneil Cruz: 0 for 4, two walks, one strikeout
Connor Joe: 0 for 3, two strikeouts
Joey Bart: 1 for 2, one home run, three RBIs, one walk

Tidbits

With Tuesday’s loss, the Pirates fell to 32-59 against the Brewers since the start of 2019.
In 17 games in September prior to being recalled on Tuesday, Joshua Palacios was slashing .388/.440/.791 in 17 games with Indianapolis in September.
Andrew McCutchen has the fifth-most career home runs against the Brewers with 40. He trails Reggie Jackson (62), Albert Pujols (45), Sammy Sosa (44) and Joey Votto (43).