Pirates

Pirates Daily: Bucs Go For The Series Spilt Against D-backs In The Desert

Published

2 years ago

August 11, 2022

Thursday, Aug. 11, the Pittsburgh Pirates (45-66) and Arizona Diamondbacks (50-60) will conclude their four-game series at Chase Field in Phoenix. First pitch is set for 3:40 p.m. ET.

The game will air on AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh.

Lineup

DH Ben Gamel
CF Bryan Reynolds
3B Ke’Bryan Hayes
SS Oneil Cruz
RF Bligh Madris
2B Tucupita Marcano
LF Greg Allen
C José Godoy
1B Josh VanMeter

Starters

JT Brubaker (2-10, 4.49 ERA) will be on the mound for the Pirates and face D-backs right-hander Merrill Kelly (10-5, 2.86 ERA).

After posting a 3.17 ERA over eight starts from June 9-July 25, Brubaker has given up 10 earned runs in 8.1 innings (10.80) over his last two starts. Opposing batters have recorded 20 hits over him in those two games.

The Pittsburgh Pirates face a tall task in Kelly, who is seventh among National League starters in ERA (2.86), tied for seventh in wins (10) and 10th in innings pitched (132.1).

Betting Odds

The Bucs open as +154 underdogs on the moneyline, whereas Arizona is listed as -184. Pittsburgh’s run line of +1.5 can be had at -137 odds, while Arizona -1.5 can be had at +114. The over/under currently sits at an even eight runs.

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not

Who’s Hot: Ben Gamel is currently riding a six-game hitting streak. Over those six games, Gamel is batting .320 (8 for 25) with four doubles, five RBIs and two steals. He has also reached base safely in 10 straight contests.

Who’s Not: In eight August games, Jason Delay has slumped to a .200 batting average (4 for 20) with eight strikeouts. The good news for Delay is he reached base twice (a single and a walk) in Wednesday’s 6-4 win.

Tidbits:

Wednesday’s win for Pittsburgh was the Pirates first win in Arizona since defeating the Diamondbacks 6-2 on May 14, 2019. If the Pirates are able to defeat Arizona on Thursday afternoon, it would mark the first time since May 13-14, 2017 that the Pirates would have won two straight contests at Chase Field.
In two career starts against Arizona, Brubaker is 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA. In nine innings across those two starts. Brubaker has surrendered 11 hits, walked four and struck out nine batters. In his last start against the D-backs on June 3, Brubaker was tagged with five earned runs and allowed three homers in four innings while taking the loss. This will be Brubaker’s first time pitching at Chase Field.
Bryan Reynolds has reached base in all nine of his games in the month of August. He has recorded 10 hits (two doubles, one home run), walked six times and been hit by a pair of pitches.