The Pittsburgh Pirates aim to finish the first half of the season on a positive note with a pair of home matchups against top National League foes.
The downward spiral continues for the Pirates.
Their dreadful plummet to the bottom of the National League Central continued this past weekend as they lost two of three to the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Bucs (41-48) now sit 12.5 games back of the first place Milwaukee Brewers and aren’t far from being surpassed by the Cincinnati Reds for fourth place in the division.
This week presents a whole new set of challenges for the Pirates who welcome the Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers to town. The Nats sit just above .500 and are five games back in the NL East while the Brewers have a 1.5 game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.
Starting pitchers have yet to be announced for the rare five game set between the Pirates and Brewers, who will make up a postponed game from June with a doubleheader Saturday.
Therefore, only the Washington series, which begins tonight at PNC Park, will be included in this week’s edition of matchups to watch.
Here are three of the top matchups to look out for during the three game set between the Pirates and Nationals.
Ivan Nova vs. Bryce Harper
Pirates starter Ivan Nova takes the hill tonight in game one of the three game set with Washington.
Nova, who is 4-6 with a 4.48 ERA in 16 starts this season, had a stellar month of June, sporting a 2-0 record with a 1.75 ERA in four outings. However, he didn’t kick off July in the best of ways. The veteran right hander allowed seven runs on nine hits in five innings against the Dodgers on July 3. He allowed five home runs in the loss, pushing his season total to 17 home runs allowed.
Nova faces a talented Nationals offense that features one of the biggest home run threats in the league in the form of Bryce Harper.
Despite hitting .218 this season, Harper has 21 home runs and has drawn 88 walks in over 300 at-bats. He’s always a legitimate power option and could provide a major obstacle for Nova.
In his career against Nova, Harper is 5 for 10 (.500) with a home run and five RBIs. He also has a pair of doubles in his career against him.
Harper has had his fair share of struggles this season and is coming off a month in which he hit .188. However, he can make a good outing turn into a bad one in the blink of an eye. And this particular matchup could very well be a favorable one for the former NL MVP.
Pirates catchers vs. Jeremy Hellickson
Regardless of who is behind the plate for the Pirates in game two of this series, they might have some trouble against Nationals starter Jeremy Hellickson.
Francisco Cervelli and Elias Diaz are a combined 0 for 13 in their careers against Hellickson. Cervelli, who went 1 for 3 with a run scored, a stolen base and a walk in his return from the disabled list Sunday, is 0 for 9 with four strikeouts against Hellickson.
Despite his stint on the DL, which has become a common trend for him throughout his career, Cervelli is in the midst of arguably one of the best years of his career. While Diaz took full advantage of his time as a starter and is hitting just under .290 this season.
However, they’ll have to earn it if they want to end their respective hitless droughts against Hellickson, who is coming off an outing in which he allowed nine runs on nine hits in four innings against the Marlins.
Josh harrison vs. Gio Gonzalez
It’s no secret that Josh Harrison hasn’t been swinging a hot bat as of late. The veteran infielder, whose future with the team is a big unknown, is batting .190 over his last 15 games.
He followed up a 3 for 4 effort Friday against Philadelphia with an 0 for 4 game Saturday in which he struck out three times. He capped off the series by going 1 for 4 with an RBI in the Pirates 4-1 win Sunday.
Harrison, who is hitting .260 with four home runs and 22 RBIs this season, has an opportunity to bounce back in a big way as he will face Gio Gonzalez in game three.
This is a matchup worth noting as Harrison has had success against Gonzalez in the past, compiling a .500 average against him. The 31-year-old is 6 for 12 with a pair of home runs and five RBIs in his career against the Nationals southpaw.
Gonzalez has had an average year, sporting a 6-5 record and a 3.76 ERA in 18 starts. There have been games where he’s had control issues, walking four or more batters on five occasions, and there have been times where he’s looked solid, allowing one run or less in five-plus innings six times.
This matchup could very well go either way, but Harrison has to have at least a little bit of confidence knowing he has a history of hitting Gonzalez, a hurler who has been a pretty reliable starter throughout his career.
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