After winning their first series in a month, the Pittsburgh Pirates continue their homestand with matchups against a pair of first place teams.
With the Cincinnati Reds in town this past weekend, the Pirates likely had their eyes set on ending their losing ways.
In a sense, they did just that, taking two of three from the Reds (26-45) and winning their first series since Mid-May when they swept the Chicago White Sox in a two-game set.
While the Bucs were able to get the best of one of the worst teams in baseball, the rest of the homestand won’t be as easy.
Beginning tonight, the Pirates will host the Milwaukee Brewers (42-29) in a three game series at PNC Park. The Brewers, who are making their first trip to Pittsburgh this season, have a half game lead over the Chicago Cubs for first place in the National League Central.
The Pirates (35-36) are in fourth place in the division while trailing the Brewers by seven games.
Following the three games with Milwaukee, the Pirates begin a four game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks (39-32) who are in first place in the NL West. The Pirates lost two of three to the D-Backs last week, allowing nine or more runs in each of the losses.
Competitive series against first place teams bring with it more intriguing matchups to look out for. Here are three of the matchups to watch this week.
Jhoulys chacin vs. trevor williams
This particular pitching matchup pairs one of the best pitchers as of late against a starter who began the season on a roll, but has recently struggled to gain any type of consistency.
Tonight’s pitching matchup between Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacin and Trevor Williams is intriguing in the sense that they are two pitchers on two completely different levels right now.
Aside from a pair of rough outings, Chacin has been marvelous over his last seven starts, sporting a 4-0 record with a 2.59 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. He has 40 strikeouts and 14 walks in 41.2 innings.
Hitters are only batting .227 against Chacin this season, which puts a little more pressure on Williams as hits and runs may be in short supply for the Bucs.
Williams, who started the season by posting a 2.72 ERA in his first nine starts, hasn’t been the same since May 15 when he threw seven shutout innings against the White Sox. Since then, the right hander has allowed four or more runs in four of his last five starts. In his last two starts, Williams has failed to get past the third inning.
Williams won’t have an easy task against a potent Milwaukee lineup that is tied for the NL lead in home runs. It makes the job even tougher given the fact that the pitcher he is opposing has been so dominant as of late.
If the Pirates hope to gain some ground in the divisional race and start the week out strong, a bounce back performance by Williams, whose spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy, will undoubtedly be necessary.
Chad kuhl vs. christian yelich
It can be argued that over his last five starts, Chad Kuhl has been the Pirates most consistent starting pitcher.
The right hander has relied heavily on his breaking ball and has benefited from it, posting a 2.45 ERA in his last five outings. Kuhl has gone six innings in four of those five starts.
His performance over the last month has allowed him to lower his season ERA from 4.53 to 3.76.
Kuhl’s next outing comes Wednesday in game three of the series against Milwaukee. The 25-year-old has had a good amount of success against the Brewers in his career, compiling a 3-0 record with a 1.91 ERA in six career starts against them.
Kuhl will likely be challenged by some of the top hitters in the Brewers lineup including outfielder Christian Yelich, who has been their most consistent bat this season.
Yelich is hitting .297 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs this season. He also ranks in the top 15 in the NL with a .373 on-base percentage.
Over the last seven games, the 26-year-old has had his struggles, hitting .192 (5 for 26) with one home run and four RBIs. In his career against Kuhl, he hasn’t done much. He has just one hit in eight at-bats while striking out twice.
This matchup could honestly go either way as it pits a talented hitter against a pitcher who has figured things out as of late. Regardless of what might or might not happen, this head-to-head battle is one that could play a big factor in the outcome of the final game of this three game series.
pirates offense vs. patrick corbin
The Pirates offense may have directly contributed to wearing down Arizona left-hander Patrick Corbin.
Despite picking up a no-decsion, Corbin allowed five runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings against the Pirates last week before allowing five more runs on eight hits in a loss Saturday against the New York Mets.
Corbin, who was having a stellar start to the season, has allowed five or more runs in three of his last four starts. However, will get a chance to bounce back while seeking a bit of revenge against the Pirates Friday night at PNC Park.
While Corbin is more than capable of bouncing back against this Pirates team, the offensive unit won’t make it easy.
Throughout their careers, members of the current roster are hitting over .300 collectively against Corbin with Josh Bell, Jordy Mercer, Gregory Polanco and Sean Rodriguez all owning home runs against the southpaw. Even Austin Meadows got into the groove of having success against Corbin, going 1 for 3 with a two-run double in his first look at the lefty last week.
While the Pirates have been dreadful over the last month, the offense has been relatively steady. It still ranks in the top five in the NL with a .254 team average and 330 runs scored.
Corbin will likely have to be at his best to get the better of this Pirates lineup, which has scored five or more runs in five of their last six games. If Corbin isn’t, he could see more of the same results he has seen over the last week.
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