Pirates

Pirates Daily: J.T. Brubaker Looks to Maintain Momentum

Published

2 years ago

August 23, 2022

Tuesday, Aug. 23, the Pittsburgh Pirates (47-75) play game two of a three-game series with the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves (76-48). Despite Roansy Contreras pitching seven innings Monday night, the Pirates fell to the Braves 2-1.

The weather at PNC Park for first pitch (7:05 p.m.) will be partly cloudy with a temperature around 77 degrees. Wind will be blowing from the northwest at six mph.

The Pirates game will air on AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh and 93.7 The Fan

Starters

J.T. Brubaker (3-10, 4.19 ERA) will get the ball for the Pirates. He last pitched on Aug. 18 against the Boston Red Sox. Brubaker’s line read seven innings, two hits, no earned runs, no walks, and seven strikeouts.

Brubaker’s opponent will be a tough lefty in Max Fried (11-4, 2.60 ERA). Fried too, pitched a dominant seven innings on Aug. 18. Fried gave up just four hits and two earned runs against the New York Mets.

Betting Odds

The Pittsburgh Pirates are heavy underdogs on the moneyline at +225, whereas the Braves open up as -278 favorites. Pittsburgh’s +1.5 on the run line can be had at +132 odds, and Atlanta’s -1.5 can be had at -155. The O/U stands at eight runs.

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not

Who’s Hot: Dating to Aug. 11, Duane Underwood Jr. has allowed just one run in his last six appearances. If you take out his bad outing Aug. 9, he’s given up just two runs dating to July 30.

Who’s Not: Bligh Madris has registered just two hits dating to Aug. 8. His last multi-hit game was Aug. 19 and hhasn’t recorded another one since June 25 when he had three hits.

Tidbits:

With seven innings pitched Monday night, Roansy Contreras is the first Pirates rookie to throw at least seven innings in a game since Nick Kingham in his major league debut on April 29, 2018 vs. St. Louis.
With Oneil Cruz’s home run in the fifth inning Monday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates now have a franchise record 42 home runs hit by rookies this season, surpassing the previous mark of 41 held by the 2004 club.
Cruz now has 10 home runs this season, joining Jack Suwinski (14) and Diego Castillo (10) as Pirates rookies with 10-plus home runs this season. This marks the first time in franchise history that the Pirates have had three or more rookies with 10-plus home runs