Pirates Name Starting Pitchers vs. Nationals
The Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitchers are set for their four-game series against the Washington Nationals at PNC Park.
The Pirates will open the series with left-hander Bailey Falter on Thursday, then turn to righty Luis Ortiz on Friday. Veteran right-hander Mitch Keller will toe the slab on Saturday, and then rookie right-hander Jared Jones will close things out in the series finale.
The Nationals have yet to announce their starting pitchers for the four-game series against the Pirates.
Falter, 27, is 6-7 with a 4.41 ERA in 23 starts. Across 116.1 innings pitched, the lefty has struck out 81 batters and has a WHIP of 1.29. Falter went 1-0 with a 6.53 ERA in his five starts in August, with his lone win coming against the Seattle Mariners on August 17 after he pitched 5.2 innings, allowed eight hits, two runs and struck out eight batters, which tied his season high.
The 27-year-old lefty has struggled in his last two outings, allowing five runs over five innings of work against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 23 and he allowed four runs over four innings pitched on Friday against the Cleveland Guardians.
Ortiz has been one of the Pirates' more reliable pitchers, going 6-4 with a 3.19 ERA in 33 appearances, including 11 starts. Ortiz has been on top of his game of late, pitching a career-best 15 consecutive scoreless innings.
Keller has fallen on hard times of late in his last seven starts, going 1-4 with a 5.70 ERA. The veteran right-hander has only surpassed six innings pitched once in his last five starts. Keller is 11-9 with a 3.88 ERA through 27 starts and has pitched 157.2 innings this season. He has struck out 145 batters and has a WHIP of 1.27.
Jones has made 18 starts this season and is 5-7 with a 3.91 ERA across 101.1 innings pitched. The rookie right-hander has struck out 106 batters and has a 1.14 WHIP. In his last outing, Jones pitched 6.1 innings, allowed six hits, three earned runs, walked one batter and struck out four batters.
The Pirates and Nationals last met in April for each team's second series of the season. Pittsburgh took two out of three from Washington and was 6-1 after the three-game series.
The Pirates' four-game series against the Nationals begins on Thursday at 6:40 p.m. ET at PNC Park.
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NATHANIEL MARRERO