If the Pirates can beat the Reds today, they’ll be 6-6 in the two weeks since their ten game losing streak ended, with half of those losses coming to the Brewers. That’s not so bad, I suppose, though this team is a far cry from June and July, when it seemed like every Sunday was the Pirates bungling away a chance to sweep someone.
James McDonald takes the hill today and I’m worried he’s starting to wear down a bit. He’s only got 11 strikeouts in his last 18 2/3 innings (three starts) and he’s well past last year’s combined major/minor league innings total. He goes up against Mike Leake. He’s been pretty solid of late, but he got dinged up pretty badly by the Nationals and he has given up five homers in his last three starts. He seems like the kind of pitcher the Pirates can wear down a bit if they’re patient enough, though they’re rarely patient enough to do that kind of thing these days.
First pitch today is at 1:35.
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