The Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants just completed a huge three-game set that had a playoff feel to it.
The Giants entered the series as the NL West leaders and the Pirates were still on the outside looking in on the playoff bubble. The Pirates came to play as they swept the Giants, going 5-1 on their six game road trip.
The Pirates are now only one game out of the second wild card spot and three games behind the top spot. The Pirates head back home but will not catch a break, as the Miami Marlins come to town. The Pirates (62-56) only hold a one game cushion over the Marlins (62-58) in the wild card race. Let’s take a look at three matchups you need to know about heading into this big series.
3) Marlins Pitchers not named Fernandez vs Pirates batters
The Marlins decided to give their ace an extended rest in the middle of a playoff race. Fernandez will pitch his first game on Thursday August 18th against the Reds, ten days after his last start on August 8th. The Pirates will miss facing Fernandez by one day and you won’t hear any Pirates fan complain about that. The Marlins ace is 12-6 this season with a 2.81 ERA, 198 strikeouts, and a league-leading 12.9 K/9. Fernandez shut down the Pirates in his one start against them this season, hurling seven innings of shutout baseball, giving up only three hits and striking out 6 in a 3-1 win.
2) Chad Kuhl Looks vs. Regression
The 23-year old rookie will make his seventh start of the season in game two on Saturday. Kuhl is coming off two straight impressive starts, going six innings and only allowing two runs in each outing. Even though Kuhl had the bats going behind him in his last start in Los Angeles, he kept his composure and still delivered a great game as if it was a 3-2 game. Kuhl is fighting to keep his spot in the rotation and has a huge opportunity this weekend the show it is his.
1) Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Gordon
Since coming back from his 80-game PED suspension, Dee Gordon picked up where he left off. In the month of August, Gordon owns a .353 batting average, .413 on-base, 13 runs scored and 7 stolen bases. Gordon’s return to the Marlins has not been a triumphant one, as the team owns 7-11. The Pirates are one of Gordon’s favorite teams to play against, as he owns .307 career average against them with 16 stolen bases, his 4th highest against all 30 teams. Gordon could have a field day on the bases this series if he gets on base. The 24th worst caught stealing percentage belongs to Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli, at .167%, only catching nine batters all season.
With a little over 40 games remaining and seven teams in the NL wild card race, this weekend series can be the difference between being in the hunt with a week left or not. The Pirates are red hot right now and hope to keep it going against the Marlins.
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