The Pittsburgh Pirates are in the midst of one of their worst slumps in recent years. The Bucs have lost five games in a row and face a huge test as they play a four game set starting tonight against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park.
The Pirates (33-36) currently sit in third place in the National League Central division, while the Giants (44-26) lead the Los Angeles Dodgers by 6.5 games in the NL West division.
The Pirates will be happy to return home, where they have an 18-15 record compared to their 15-21 record on the road. However, the next few series for the Pirates will not be easy. Following this four game set with the Giants, the Bucs then play a four game weekend set with the Dodgers and head out on a nine game road trip to face off with the Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics and St Louis Cardinals. They will then finish the first half at home against the Chicago Cubs, the team that swept them on the road this past weekend.
When it comes to the Giants, they have it all. A stellar offense, solid defense and an outstanding pitching staff. It won’t be easy for the Bucs to end their slump against this team, but there are plenty of interesting matchups that fans should get excited about.
3.) Josh Harrison vs Madison Bumgarner
In the opener of this series, the Pirates face off against one of the best pitchers in baseball, Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner, who is a threat both on the mound and at the plate, has had a stellar start to his 2016 season. This season, the 26-year old is 8-2 with a 1.91 ERA that ranks him tied for third in the National League and 107 strikeouts in 94 innings pitched.
Bumgarner is 4-0 with a 1.06 ERA in his last seven starts and could provide a tough matchup for the Pirates hitters. The Pirates, as a team, are sixth in the NL in strikeouts (574) and are coming off of a game against the Cubs in which hitters struck out 14 times. It doesn’t get any better in this series when it comes to facing high quality pitching, so the Pirates will need to make adjustments against the Giants stellar starting pitchers, including Bumgarner.
One particular matchup that should be exciting to watch is when Josh Harrison comes up to face Bumgarner. Harrison has had success in the few times that he has faced Bumgarner, who hasn’t lost since mid April, hitting .571 with one home run in seven at-bats.
Harrison is hitting .300 with three home runs and 32 RBI in 64 games this season and is coming off of a game last night against Chicago in which he went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a run scored.
It will be interesting to see if the struggles for the Pirates continue against the Giants Ace or if Harrison and the Bucs can get to Bumgarner and end their losing ways.
2.) Starling Marte vs Johnny Cueto
While the Pirates have had their struggles on offense and within their pitching staff, Starling Marte has been a shining light. This season, Marte is second in the NL with his .337 batting average and has also contributed six home runs, 27 RBI and 20 steals. The 27-year old is 12-for-24 (.500) with one home run and five RBI in his last seven games and should provide some stellar offense for the Bucs in this series.
Tomorrow night, old division foe Johnny Cueto takes the mound against the Pirates, a team in which he is 18-4 with a 2.13 ERA against in 28 career starts. This season, Cueto is 10-1 with a 2.10 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 14 starts.
Cueto has a ton of experience playing against the Pirates from his time with the Cincinnati Reds and he will look to continue his dominance against them while pitching in another uniform.
In his career against Cueto, Marte has been anything but good, going 1-for-23 (.043) with eight strikeouts against the Giants right-hander. Despite these struggles, Marte’s recent success and his success this season make this an interesting matchup. Will Marte be able to turn things around, or will Cueto continue to have his number?
1.) Andrew McCutchen vs Jeff Samardzija
Another former NL Central foe takes the mound in game three of this series as former Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija makes his 11th career start against the Pirates. Samardzija has a 2.25 ERA in 21 total appearances against the Bucs coming into this start and he has shown to be a solid number three starter for the Giants this season. He is 8-4 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.11 WHIP this year and provides yet another tough pitching matchup for the Bucs.
One player that has had success against the hard throwing righty throughout his career is Andrew McCutchen. In his career against Samardzija, McCutchen is 13-for-32 (.406) with five doubles, two RBI, five walks and 11 strikeouts.
As we all know, McCutchen hasn’t had the best season, hitting .243 with ten home runs and 28 RBI, all while striking out 74 times. McCutchen has been better in his last four games, compiling six hits during that span, but he has still struck out four times, including three times in last night’s loss to the Cubs.
McCutchen is a player who is bound to get back to form eventually, but we’ve seen stretches like this from him this season before. It will be interesting to see if he can keep his recent hot streak going and I think a matchup against a pitcher he has had success against in the past is just what he needs.
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