Big Opportunity For Pirates to Make Ground in Crowded Central
The Pittsburgh Pirates are fresh off a successful weekend in which they took two of three games against the Milwaukee Brewers but will have no time to let up.
The series at American Family Field was the start of a stretch of 10 straight games against a tough National League Central. The Pirates return home on Monday night for the start of a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, which will be followed by three games with the division-leading Cincinnati Reds.
The Pirates are favored in Monday’s homestand opener against the Cardinals according to the FanDuel Oddsmakers, but it will be a bit of an odd game.
Braxton Ashcraft was originally scheduled to start the game but will have his start pushed back after being placed on the Bereavement/Family Medical Emergency List. Instead, left-handed Mason Montgomery will be used as an opener for the second time this season and Wilber Dotel will follow in relief.
The Pirates might need a big night from the bats with Dotel — a rookie who only made three starts with Triple-A Indianapolis to his promotion — expected to cover multiple innings.
The offense will be up against Dustin May, who has been somewhat susceptible by the long ball since the start of last season. Oneil Cruz and Marcell Ozuna both have home runs against May in the past, and the duo are among the favorites to go deep in Monday’s game according to the home run predictions.
The Pirates will be looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since dropping their first two games of the season.
A Look Ahead
The Pirates still have TBA listed as Tuesday’s starter but it could be Ashcraft, who is permitted to return to the roster after spending the minimum three days on the bereavement list.
Ashcraft is off to an excellent start in his second big-league season. The right-hander leads the Pirates and is eighth in the National League with a miniscule 2.43 ERA. If it is Ashcraft who takes the ball on Tuesday, his mound opponent will be Cardinals right-hander Kyle Leahy (2-3, 5.63 ERA).
On Wednesday, the Pirates will go with rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler, who is looking for a bounce-back start after struggling last week against the Rangers in Texas. Right-hander Andre Pallante (2-2, 4.26 ERA) goes for St. Louis.
In the series finale, the Pirates will be led by reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, who has been rolling since his short outing on Opening Day, while the Cardinals have yet to identify their probable starter.
While all the probable pitchers for the series with the Reds have not been named (Mitch Keller will start for Pittsburgh on Friday), it will be a tall task for the Pirates. Cincinnati enters Monday’s action with an 18-10 record that includes a 10-3 showing on the road. The 10 road wins are tied for the most in MLB.
Last year, the Pirates went 6-7 against the Reds and were 3-4 against them at PNC Park.
As good as the division has been this season, the Pirates are so far 6-3 against teams from the National League Central and have won all three series to date. Given how the division has performed so far this year, the Pirates will need to continue to play at a high level against the four teams they see the most.
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