Pirates

Pirates Daily: Keller Returns to the Mound; Is His Shoulder Ready?

Published

2 years ago

August 24, 2022

Wednesday, Aug. 24 the Pittsburgh Pirates (47-76) finish their three-game series with the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves (77-48). The Pirates have now lost ten of their last 12 games, and four in a row.

The weather at PNC Park for first pitch (12:35 p.m.) will be nice and sunny with a temperature around 78 degrees. There will be a northwest wind blowing around 4 mph.

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

Starters

Mitch Keller (4-9, 4.49 ERA) is back after missing some time with right shoulder fatigue. Keller’s last outing saw him leave after just two innings of work against the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 16. Keller is reportedly back to throwing around 96-97 mph.

Keller and the Pirates will face a tough test in right-handed pitcher Kyle Wright (15-5, 3.14 ERA). Wright has pitched six innings or more in his last seven starts dating to July 9. Wright offers a five-pitch mix with a curveball (33.9%), four-seam (22.4%) sinker (21.4%), changeup (15.9%), and a slider (6.6%).

Betting Odds

The Pittsburgh Pirates are heavy underdogs on the moneyline at +200, whereas the Braves open up as -250 favorites. Pittsburgh’s +1.5 on the run line can be had at +118 odds, and Atlanta’s -1.5 can be had at -142. The O/U stands at 8.5 runs.

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not

Who’s Hot: Chase De Jong has been an extremely solid addition to the Pirates’ bullpen. Tuesday night, De Jong pitched 2.1 innings while allowing just one hit, and striking out four. Over his last four outings, De Jong has worked 10.1 scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.13.

Who’s Not: Tucupita Marcano has had a rough go of things in his last 30 games (102 at-bats). Marcano is batting .196/.255/.255 with 27 strikeouts during that span.

Tidbits:

Oneil Cruz’s nine home runs as a shortstop (one as a DH) is tied for fourth most since June 20 in the major leagues by a shortstop. He trails just the Milwaukee Brewers’ Willy Adames (11), New York Mets’ Franciso Lindor (10), and Corey Seager (10).
Rodolfo Castro has gone 15-for-48 (.313) with two doubles, two triples and two home runs since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Aug. 9, Castro has recorded six multi-hit games and has hit safely in eight of his last 10 starts.
On Tuesday afternoon, Pirates minor leaguer Jesus Castillo captured the Florida Complex League batting title. He finished the season with a .352 average. The 19-year-old Castillo was signed by the Pirates as an international amateur free agent from Venezuela in 2019.