Pirates

Pirates Preview: Rubber Match Against Orioles

Published

4 weeks ago

April 7, 2024

The Pittsburgh Pirates (7-2) picked up a thrilling extra-innings win over the Baltimore Orioles (5-3) at PNC Park on Saturday.

Oneil Cruz played the role of hero for the Pirates with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning. For Cruz, it was the second walk-off of his career and the first walk-off hit.

The Pirates will go for their third-straight series win to start the season in the rubber match against the Orioles on Sunday afternoon.

First pitch is set for 1:35 ET. The game will be televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh.

Weather

Temperatures will climb in the 50’s throughout the game under partly sunny skies. Winds NE at 5 mph.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Will Send Out LHP Marco Gonzales (0-0, 1.80 ERA)

Gonzales got the job done in his Pirates’ debut against the Washington Nationals in D.C. The left-hander allowed just one run on four hits and a pair of walks in five innings pitched and struck out a pair.

It was Gonzales’ first start since last May. Gonzales ended the season on the injured list after undergoing forearm surgery.

Gonzales had made four starts against the Orioles as a big-leaguer. He’s 1-1 with a 5.95 ERA with Orioles’ hitters hitting .295 against him.

For whatever the reason might be, Gonzales has thrived during interleague play throughout his career. In 19 career starts, he’s gone 9-3 with a 3.20 ERA in those contests.

The Baltimore Orioles Will Send Out RHP Dean Kremer (0-0, 5.06 ERA)

Kremer was plagued by the long ball in his 2o24 debut against Kansas City. The Royals hit a pair of homers off of Kremer, who allowed three runs in 5.1 innings pitched.

The right-hander made a career-high 32 starts for the Orioles last season. He finished the year with a 13-5 record and a 4.12 ERA.

Kremer has faced the Pirates one time in his career back in 2022. In that game, he silenced Pittsburgh with 6.1 shutout innings. The Pirates could only manage four hits against him.

Orioles Hitters vs. Gonzales

Tony Kemp: 6 for 15, three RBIs, three RBIs, two walks
James McCann: 0 for 5, one walk, one strikeout
Austin Hays: 1 for 3
Cedric Mullins: 0 for 3
Ryan O’Hearn: 0 for 3
Anthony Santander: 0 for 3, three strikeouts

Pirates Hitters vs. Kremer

Ke’Bryan Hayes: 1 for 3, one double
Bryan Reynolds: 1 for 3

Tidbits

Oneil Cruz’s previous walk-off was a four-pitch walk with the bases loaded against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022.
David Bednar blew his second save of the season on three attempts. He converted 39 of 42 save opportunities last season.
Rowdy Tellez had his first three-hit game since 2022 on Saturday.