The Pittsburgh Pirates look to bounce back from a sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs as they start a 10 game homestand beginning tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park.
One week ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates were flying high as they swept the Milwaukee Brewers in a four game series on the road for the first time in franchise history. However, they were the ones on the bad end of a sweep this week against the Chicago Cubs, putting them once again in a slight disadvantage in the National League Wild Card race.
The Pirates (67-64) currently trail the St Louis Cardinals by 2.5 games for the second wild card spot. The New York Mets, who have won seven of their last 10 games, trail by only two games, while the Miami Marlins trail by three.
The Brewers (57-76) continue their less than stellar campaign. The Brew Crew have lost six of their last 10 games and are 20-41 on the road this season.
Tonight starts a big homestand for the Pirates as they play three consecutive home series against division rivals in the Brewers, Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. As always, this series is bound to provide some intriguing matchups. Here are our three to watch out for:
3.) Jameson Taillon vs Hernan Perez
Only once in his major league career has Jameson Taillon only pitched three innings while giving up five earned runs in a start. This just so happened to occur in his last start against the team he will be going up against again tonight.
Taillon has only made 13 career starts in the major leagues, but three of them have been against the Brewers. Taillon is 0-1 with a 4.80 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in his three outings against Milwaukee. He did give up less than two earned runs in two of those three starts and had arguably his best of the three in a matchup at home.
The 24-year old has been remarkably better at home this season, posting a 1-1 record with a 2.86 ERA in seven home starts compared to a 2-2 mark with a 4.09 ERA in six road starts.
Taillon has had some mixed success against certain hitters in the Brewers lineup; however, one guy in particular has been a nightmare for the young right hander to face.
Brewers infielder Hernan Perez has owned Taillon so far in the pitcher’s young career, going 5-for-7 (.714) with three home runs and seven RBIs.
Perez has had a good year overall, hitting .274 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs in 95 games. He has also compiled 26 stolen bases this season.
Perez has played 30 plus games in the infield and in the outfield this season. He has a strong presence on defense and on offense, which makes him a big threat for the Brewers.
The success that Perez has shown against Taillon in a short amount of time makes him an even bigger threat. It will be interesting to see how this latest matchup between the two will transpire and to see if it continues to lean in the favor of the Brewers young star.
2.) Ivan Nova vs Jimmy Nelson
Game two of this series features a very intriguing pitching matchup. Jimmy Nelson takes the mound for the Brewers, while Ivan Nova toes the rubber for the Pirates.
This particular matchup features two pitchers that are trending in different directions. Nova is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA in his last three starts, while Nelson is 1-1 with a 7.98 ERA in his last three outings.
After a stellar month of July, Nelson was 1-4 with a 9.00 ERA in August, so he will be looking forward to the calendar turning to September. Nelson will be making his second consecutive start against the Pirates, as he allowed five earned runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings on Saturday.
Nova has been nothing short of spectacular as a Pirate. The right hander is 4-0 with a 2.87 ERA in five starts with the Bucs. Nova allowed just one earned run on three hits while striking out four in six innings of work in his last start against the Brewers.
Based on what we have seen from these two pitchers lately, it would be safe to say that this matchup falls in the Pirates favor. The Bucs in general have three favorable pitching matchups in this series, but only time will tell whether or not they can take advantage of this.
1.) Pirates offense vs Chase Anderson
In game three of this series, the Brewers send Chase Anderson to the mound. Anderson will be making his seventh career start against the Pirates, a team in which he is 1-2 with a 4.40 ERA against in six starts.
Anderson faced the Bucs on Sunday, allowing two earned runs on five hits while walking one and striking out five in 5.1 innings. He holds a 5.11 ERA in his last three starts.
For this particular matchup, the Pirates offense as a whole will be key against Anderson. Josh Harrison, Starling Marte and Jordy Mercer have proven to have success against the right hander in the past, compiling batting averages above .500 with more than 10 plate appearances each.
David Freese has proven to be good for the Pirates all season long, but has had lingering trouble against Anderson in his career. The Pirates third baseman is hitless in 10 at-bats against the 28-year old and is hitting just .196 in his last 15 games.
Anderson has struggled on the road this season, compiling a 1-6 record with a 6.00 ERA in 13 appearances (12 starts) away from Miller Park. This is something the Pirates offense must capitalize on in order to seal a victory in the series finale on Sunday.
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