The Pittsburgh Pirates begin a weekend series at home against the Cincinnati Reds tonight. Here are our matchups to watch this series.
Following a road trip in which they played nine consecutive games before yesterday’s postponement, the Pittsburgh Pirates return to PNC Park tonight to take on the Cincinnati Reds, beginning a three game set against the team. The Pirates enter the series with a 13-9 record, sitting in second place in the National League Central division. The Reds are on the opposite side of the spectrum with a 9-13 record while sitting in fourth place in the NL Central. As the two division rivals meet for their second series of the season, there are plenty of matchups to look forward to this weekend. However, there are three big time matchups to keep an eye on.
1.) Francisco Liriano vs Brandon Phillips
Tomorrow night, the Pirates send Francisco Liriano to the mound in game two of this three game series against the Reds. Liriano, who will be making his 14th career start against Cincinnati, has had success against various members of the Reds team. For instance, in his career, Reds First Baseman Joey Votto is 5-for-26 (.192) with one home run, three RBI, five walks and eight strikeouts against the Pirates left-hander, while Outfielder Jay Bruce is hitting .16o in his career against him. Reds Shortstop Zack Cozart has also hit a home run against Liriano in his career, but he is only hitting .174 in 23 career at-bats against him.
Though Liriano has had success against these three particular players, a highly anticipated matchup will be one that includes a player that the 32-year old has had mixed success against. In his career, Reds Second Baseman Brandon Phillips is 11-for-36 (.306 avg) with one home run and four RBI against Liriano. Despite having an average above the .300 mark, Phillips has also struck out five times against the hard throwing leftie while only drawing one walk. As you can see by his amount of plate appearances, Phillips has plenty of experience against Liriano. In fact, the only player that Liriano has faced more than Phillips is St Louis Cardinals Shortstop Jhonny Peralta who has 53 career at-bats against the Pirates number two starter.
This season, Liriano has struggled a bit, compiling a 1-1 record, with a 4.64 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 21.1 innings. The problems this season for Liriano have really surrounded giving up the long ball and issues with control. While he does pile up the strikeouts, Liriano is also prone to piling up the walks as well, with 17 free passes in four starts this season. Liriano has contributed to the pitching staff’s 101 walks this season, which ranks tied for first in the Major Leagues with the Reds.
Liriano is coming off of a stellar start against the Arizona Diamondbacks in which he went six innings while giving up four runs on five hits with six strikeouts and only three walks. He consistently was getting ahead in the count and obviously showed better control on the mound as well. He has had success in his career against Cincinnati and is back pitching at PNC Park for the first time since Opening Day. Be sure to keep an eye on Liriano as he faces the Reds lineup and pay special close attention when Brandon Phillips steps up to the plate.
2.) Starling Marte vs Alfredo Simon
If anyone knows how to have success against Alfredo Simon, the Red’s starter for tomorrow night, it has to be Pirates Outfielder Starling Marte. The second matchup to look forward to involves these two players and the statistics point directly in Marte’s favor.
In his career against Simon, Marte is 10-for-28 (.357) with two doubles, two RBI, one walk, and five strikeouts. Marte and teammate Andrew McCutchen, both with 28 career at-bats, have faced Simon more than any other player in baseball.
Aside from his abundance of plate appearances and recent success against him, Marte also has the opportunity to take advantage of Simon’s slow start to the 2016 season. This season, Simon is 0-2 with a 16.39 ERA in four total appearances including three starts. In only 9.1 innings, Simon has given up 17 earned runs on 22 hits while walking six and striking out 12. In his last outing, the 34-year old took the loss, as he only lasted 2.2 innings, while giving up eight earned runs on ten hits.
Expect the Pirates stellar offense to have success against Simon and attempt to help him continue his struggles. Also, be sure to keep an eye on Marte’s plate appearances as he looks to continue his career success against the Reds right-hander.
3.) Gregory Polanco vs Raisel Iglesias
On Sunday afternoon, the Pirates send Jeff Locke to the mound to take on Raisel Iglesias. Iglesias, who is only in his second Major League season, has been impressive for the Reds this season, compiling a 1-1 record with a 3.49 ERA, seven walks and 29 strikeouts in 28.1 innings.
Iglesias, who has only pitched in three career games against Pittsburgh, is the third right hander to face the Pirates in this series. It is this reason why Gregory Polanco could be a force against all three starters, including Iglesias.
This season, Polanco has shined at the bottom of the Pirates lineup, hitting .329 with two home runs and 14 RBI in 22 games. Polanco has had an impressive approach at the plate as well, drawing 16 walks and striking out only 12 times. Polanco has hit very well against right handers this season, hitting .354 with one home run and 12 RBI in 65 at-bats.
Combine his success against right handers with Iglesias’ struggles against lefties and it puts together a matchup that could wind up in Polanco’s favor.
In 23 career games, left handed hitting opponents are hitting .295 against Iglesias. This season in particular, lefties are hitting .322 and Iglesias has compiled a 5.02 ERA against these hitters while allowing three home runs and five walks compared to one home run and two walks given up to right handed hitters.
Despite his struggles against lefties, expect Iglesias to attempt to duplicate his last start against the Pirates. On April 9, Iglesias pitched 5.2 innings while giving up one earned run on eight hits and striking out five en route to a victory. The Pirates will have to work hard to get to the 26-year old right hander and expect the lefties in the lineup, including Polanco, to take advantage of Iglesias’ past struggles.
Though the Reds seem to be in a rebuilding phase after trading Todd Frazier and Aroldis Chapman in the offseason, they are still a team that the Pirates should not take lightly. The Pirates have had struggles against the Reds and Brewers in the past and will look to bounce back from their early April series loss in Cincinnati. This could happen this weekend as there are many matchups that could wind up in the Pirates favor.
Photo Credit – Joe Robbins/Getty Images
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