After taking two of three games this weekend against the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates are home once again for a mid week three game set against the San Diego Padres at PNC Park.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (55-54) remarkably remain in contention in the National League Wild Card race. The Bucs currently sit 2.5 games back for the second spot, but the Miami Marlins, St Louis Cardinals and New York Mets sit ahead of them in a jam packed race. The Pirates are 4-6 in their last 10 games and once again get set to play an opponent under the .500 mark.
The San Diego Padres (48-63) are in fourth place in the NL West and the only race they are currently in is the one for last place in the division. They are three games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are in the NL West basement.
Despite the less than stellar record, the Padres, like any team, are bound to provide some interesting matchups to watch in this series. Here are our three to look out for:
3.) Chad Kuhl vs Padres in return to MLB
For the first time since July 17, Chad Kuhl will step on a major league mound as he makes his fifth career start against the Padres tonight.
The 23-year old is 1-0 with a 4.19 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in four MLB starts coming into tonight. He has also compiled 13 strikeouts and five walks in 19.1 innings. Kuhl arguably had his best major league start before he was sent back down to the minors, pitching six innings of shutout, one hit baseball while striking out five in a start against the Washington Nationals.
Following Kuhl’s recent demotion to Indianapolis, Kuhl pitched one game, but left that game with right triceps discomfort. He came back for another outing on Aug. 1 against the Columbus Clippers, a game in which he allowed one unearned run on four hits while striking out six in six innings.
With the recent shakeup in the Pirates pitching staff involving trades, Kuhl could be pitching tonight for a solidified spot in the starting rotation. He will get his first taste of the San Diego offense and will likely need to keep the ball on the ground and have solid command in order to have a stellar outing.
2.) Andrew McCutchen vs Edwin Jackson
Andrew McCutchen hasn’t really owned any pitchers this season. The former NL MVP has had his worst season as a major leaguer by far in 2016, but could have success in this series.
After being benched for the entire Atlanta Braves series last week, McCutchen returned to the Pirates lineup this past weekend. The 29-year old was 2-for-9 in the series with one RBI, three walks and two strikeouts. He is hitting .231 in his last seven games, which is an improvement given the fact that he is barely hitting over the .200 mark in his last 15 contests.
McCutchen, who is hitting .241 this season with 15 home runs and 44 RBI, has had a ton of success throughout his career against one Padres pitcher in particular. That pitcher is Edwin Jackson, tomorrow’s probable starter.
In his career against Jackson, McCutchen is 13-for-31 (.419) with three home runs, nine RBI, three doubles, seven walks and six strikeouts.
Jackson is 2-2 with a 5.00 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 12 appearances (four starts) this season.
McCutchen’s struggles have lingered far longer than anyone could have expected. He has never slumped like this before, but he finds himself in at least one favorable matchup in this series. It is up to him to have some quality at-bats against Jackson and try to have a big game that could possibly lead to an end to his horrid struggles.
1.) Ryan Vogelsong vs Yangervis Solarte
Ryan Vogelsong was arguably the best story of the past week.
After being hit in the face in May, the 39-year old returned to a big league mound and mowed down Braves hitters. Vogelsong allowed one earned run on three hits while walking one and striking out six in six innings.
Vogelsong is 1-1 with a 3.25 ERA in 13 appearances (three starts) this season. He has also accumulated 22 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.
Vogelsong will make yet another start tomorrow night as he takes on the Padres. Vogelsong is 6-6 with a 4.54 ERA in 23 appearances (12 starts) against the Padres in his career and will be making his first start against them this season.
The Padres roster may look a little different than the last time Vogelsong faced them, but one player may seem familiar to the Pirates veteran. Yangervis Solarte has faced Vogelsong on more than a few occasions, going 4-for-11 (.364) with one RBI, two walks and one strikeout in his career against him.
That is one matchup to look forward to as Solarte has had success in a small sample size against the right hander. However, Vogelsong has had some success against some of Solarte’s teammates including Derek Norris and Alexei Ramirez, who are hitless in a combined 12 at-bats against Vogelsong.
The Pirates hurler is coming off of his best start of the season and will look to build upon that tomorrow night. He will face a lineup headlined by Solarte and Wil Myers, but he could find himself in a favorable matchup to keep the ball rolling and maintain his spot in the Pirates rotation.
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