Pirates Preview: Will Pitching Show Up?
Any time a team can score at least eight runs in a game, there's plenty of reason for optimism that they won the game.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have done that in back-to-back games, and they have a 0-2 record to show for it. Pittsburgh's losing streak extended to four with a 10-8 loss to the Cleveland Guardians.
After falling behind 4-0, Pittsburgh stormed back in the fifth inning and scored six runs to take the lead. But as quickly as the Pirates took the lead, they relinquished it in the bottom half of the inning after the Guardians scored four runs and led the rest of the way.
On Wednesday, Pittsburgh led the Chicago Cubs 10-3 before the NL Central rival scored 11 unanswered runs en route to a 14-10 loss for the Pirates.
The Pirates will turn to Luis Ortiz on Saturday in an attempt to salvage the team's worst month of the season, as they've gone 7-19 through the first 30 days of August. Ortiz is 5-4 with a 3.36 ERA across 107 innings pitched and has struck out 83 batters. Through his five starts in August, Ortiz is 0-2 with a 5.08 ERA.
The Guardians will counter with Matthew Boyd, who will be making his fourth start of the year after missing most of the season due to an elbow injury. The veteran left-hander is 1-0 and earned his lone win of the season in his last outing, pitching six innings and allowing one run and striking out four batters.
Pirates vs. Guardians Broadcast Info
Location: Progressive Field
Records: Pirates (62-72), Guardians (77-58)
First pitch: 6:10 p.m. ET
TV: Pirates - SportsNet-PIT — Guardians - Bally Sports Great Lakes
Radio: Pirates - KDKA-FM 93.7 — Guardians - WTAM 1100, WMMS 100.7, Guardians Radio Network, WARF 1350
Pirates vs. Guardians Betting Odds via SI Sportsbook
Spread: Guardians -1.5 (+125), Pirates +1.5 (-154)
Total: Over 8.5 (-110), under 8.5 (-118)
Moneyline: Guardians -167, Pirates +135
NATHANIEL MARRERO