Pirates

Pirates Preview: Priester Makes Second-Career Start in San Diego

Published

9 months ago

July 24, 2023

The Pittsburgh Pirates (43-56) were defeated by the Los Angeles Angels 7-5 on Sunday evening in Anaheim, dropping the three-game series.

The Pirates’ West Coast road trip now heads south down the state as the Bucs will be in San Diego for a three-game series with the Padres (48-52) beginning on Monday night.

Quinn Priester will be on the mound for the Pirates in what will be the second start in his big league career. The right-hander started off on the right foot in his debut against the Cleveland Guardians, but ultimately gave up seven runs in 5.1 innings.

The game kicks off at 9:40 ET and will be aired on AT&T SportsNet.

Weather

As is to be expected in San Diego, the weather looks beautiful with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s around first pitch.

The Pirates will send out RHP Quinn Priester (0-1, 11.81)

Priester retired the first nine batters he faced in his major league debut on Monday night before seeing the wheels fall off in the following innings.

The right-hander is considered to be the Pirates’ top pitching prospect and fourth-best overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

In 18 starts with Triple-A Indianapolis this season prior to his promotion, Priester was 7-3 with a 4.31 ERA.

The Padres will send out RHP Yu Darvish (7-6, 4.36)

Darvish has been on a nice roll in the month of July, pitching to a 2.12 ERA (4er/17.0ip) in three starts. In his last two starts, he’s only yielding one run with 19 strikeouts across 12 combined innings.

For his career, Darvish has pitched well against the Pirates. In nine starts against Pittsburgh, he is 4-2 with a 2.63 ERA in nine starts.

The right-handed Darvish has fared much better at Petco Park this season (3.83 ERA at home) vs. on the road (4.86 ERA).

Padres Hitters vs. Priester

No current Padre has faced Priester

Pirates Hitters vs. Anderson

Carlos Santana: 3 for 22, one double, two walks, six strikeouts
Bryan Reynolds: 1 for 12, one home run, one RBI, three walks, four strikeouts
Andrew McCutchen: 3 for 11, three walks, four strikeouts
Connor Joe: 1 for 8, one RBI, one walk, one strikeout

Tidbits

After allowing six runs in 5.0 innings in the Pirates’ loss on Sunday, Mitch Keller has an 11.45 ERA (14er/11.0ip) since the All-Star Break. His season ERA has creeped up to 4.01.
The last time the Pirates faced the Padres, they swept them in a three-gamer series at PNC Park at the end of June.
After starting the season 20-8, the Pirates have only 23 wins in their last 71 games — good for a 52-win pace over the course of 162 games.