Pirates

Pirates Daily: Uphill Battle to Avoid Sweep Against deGrom

Published

2 years ago

September 18, 2022

Sunday, Sept. 18, the Pittsburgh Pirates (55-91) face the National League East-leading Mets (92-54) at Citi Field in New York. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:40 p.m.

The Pirates are one loss away from getting swept by the Mets in four games after nearly getting shut out Saturday in a 5-1 loss. Rodolfo Castro had three of the four hits by the Pirates, including a solo shot in the ninth.

The game will be aired on AT&T Sportsnet PIT and can be heard on 100.1 FM/1020 AM

Starters

Starting for the Pirates will be Johan Oviedo (3-2, 3.34 ERA).

Oviedo is coming off of a very good performance on Tuesday. Oviedo pitched five innings and gave up no earned runs on just one hit.

The Mets will trot out one of the most dangerous starting pitchers in the NL in Jacob deGrom (5-2, 2.01 ERA).

The 34-year-old righty was toying with Pirates hitters the last time he faced them on Sept. 7. He pitched seven shutout innings and gave up just three hits.

Betting Odds

The Mets open up as heavy -450 favorites, with the Pirates listed as +350 underdogs on the moneyline. New York’s -1.5 run line can be had at -167 odds, whereas Pittsburgh’s +1.5 run line opens up at +158 odds. The O/U stands at 6.5 runs.

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not

Who’s Hot: Castro was really the only player worth noting Saturday night. Castro went 3 for 4 with a double and a homer.

Who’s Not: Oneil Cruz struggled mightily at the plate, striking out in all four at-bats.

Tidbits:

The Pirates’ Ke’Bryan Hayes has 19 defensive runs saved, ranking him ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado (17) and Baltimore Orioles’ Ramon Urias (16) among major league third baseman.
Hayes’ 19 defensive runs saved is third in MLB regardless of position. The only other players with more are Aristedes Aquino (22) and Brendan Rodgers (21).
Pirates closer David Bednar recently made a rehab performance for Triple-A Indianapolis, where he pitched a scoreless frame. Bednar needed just nine pitches to retire the side.