3 Things to Watch for Braves in Pirates Series

The Atlanta Braves will host the Pittsburgh Pirates in a matchup of two NL Wild Card contenders.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves return home in search of their bats again, as they are set to welcome the upstart Pittsburgh Pirates for a weekend series.

After winning eight of 10 contests, the Braves dropped two of three in St. Louis to begin this week and then suffered a shutout loss in a rare 1-game series to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

In the final two games of the road trip, the Braves scored just 1 combined run.

Things could be very difficult for the Braves offense again Saturday when they face one of the best young pitchers in the league. But Atlanta’s offense is set up for success in the other two contests against the Pirates.

Here are three things to keep an eye on over the weekend:

Will Marcell Ozuna Break Out of His Slump?

With the past two games being an exception, the Braves offense has been significantly better the past couple weeks. But designated hitter Marcell Ozuna appears to have entered his first real slump of the season.

Ozuna is 4-for-28 (.143 batting average) with 1 extra-base hit in the past eight games. He went a combined 0-for-9 in the double header against the Cardinals on Wednesday and then 0-for-2 with 2 walks in Chicago.

Hopefully Ozuna can break out of his funk against the Pirates. The 33-year-old has been a huge force at home, posting a .333 average with 11 home runs, 10 doubles and a 1.069 OPS in 135 at-bats at Truist Park this season.

Charlie Morton Facing His Former Team

Similar to the Braves, the Pirates have been trying to find ways to get their pitching staff extra rest. So, Pittsburgh will apparently skip 22-year-old Jared Jones’ turn in the rotation this weekend.

Instead of Jones on Friday, the Pirates will start veteran left-hander Martín Pérez. The Braves will send Charlie Morton to the mound to face his former team.

Fifteen years ago, the Braves actually traded Morton, along with Jeff Locke and Gorkys Hernández, to Pittsburgh for center fielder Nate McLouth. Morton spent the next seven years of his career with the Pirates.

While Morton has returned to Atlanta to finish his career, he has still pitched more games and innings for the Pirates than any other MLB team. From 2009-15, Morton went 41-62 with a 4.39 ERA and 6.3 strikeout per 9 innings rate in Pittsburgh.

Since leaving the Pirates, Morton has averaged 3 more strikeouts per 9 innings. Consequently, he’s had much better results, recording a 3.60 ERA with four teams.

It’s been nine years since Morton pitched for the Pirates, but he’s only faced Pittsburgh once in his career. He received a no-decision while giving up 4 earned runs in 6 innings. Although he did strike out 12 and walked only 1 during that outing.

In 2009, the Pirates traded McLouth for Morton in part so they could open center field to a young player named Andrew McCutchen. Fittingly, McCutchen will likely be the first batter Morton faces to open the series.

Pirates Project to Start Paul Skenes on Saturday

While the Braves will avoid Jones, they will have to face Paul Skenes, who owns a 2.14 ERA and hasn’t suffered a loss yet in his young MLB career.

Skenes has only made eight starts, and he began his professional baseball career just last summer. But his 100-plus MPH fastball and mix of offseason pitches, including a unique “sprinkler”, have turned Skenes into an All-Star level pitcher already.

The 22-year-old has yet to give up more than 3 runs in any outing. He’s allowed just 2 runs in his past three starts combined.

Skenes has also struck out at least 7 batters in seven of his eight MLB outings. 

The Braves lineup could have their hands full with the young pitcher Saturday. Fortunately, the Braves will have Max Fried starting opposite Skenes.

That should give Atlanta a great chance to still win the middle game of the series. Skenes has taken a no-decision three times this season in starts where he allowed 0 or 1 run.

The series finale on Sunday will feature Bailey Falter on the mound for the Pirates against Spencer Schwellenbach of the Braves. The matchup will be the league’s Sunday morning showdown on Roku TV. First pitch will occur at 11:35 AM ET.