As the first month of the season comes to a close, the Pittsburgh Pirates head to South Beach to take on the Miami Marlins.
The Pittsburgh Pirates were able to avoid a sweep this week against the Chicago Cubs and now have a record of 9-12. Considering how bad the team has looked both offensively and defensively, the Pirates are fortunate to have won so many games. They have just about survived an extremely tough April schedule. Next up are the Marlins. Here are some key matchups.
Jameson Taillon vs Marlins offense
Taillon has looked great so far in 2017. Through four starts, he is 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA. He has struck out 20, walked 10, and has given up 21 hits over 25.1 innings pitched. Although Taillon has walked three batters in three of his four starts, the tall righty has shown the ability to pound the strike zone.
Tonight will be Taillon’s first career start against the Marlins. Miami has a nice balanced lineup starting at the top with speedster Dee Gordon. Gordon only has four steals this season so he is due to increase that number. The Pirates have allowed many stolen bases so far this season. Gordon could easily double his total by the end of this series.
Christian Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton, and Marcell Ozuna provide thump in the middle of the order. Yelich hasn’t quite hit his stride so far this season hitting .274/.315/.417 with four home runs. Stanton is hitting .286/.356/.584 with seven home runs. Ozuna is hitting .275/.322/.525 with six home runs. This trio makes up arguably the best outfield in baseball. Taillon will need to be careful when facing those three in particular.
Pirates offense vs Marlins starting pitchers
Adam Conley will start for the Fish tonight and oppose Taillon. Pirates hitters do not have much experience against the young lefty as no player on the team has more than three at bats against him. Conley has a low 90s fastball coupled with a changeup and slider. So far this year he has given up six runs over 18 innings. Conley doesn’t strike out or walk a ton of batters so the Pirates may be well served to be aggressive early in the count.
Saturday night, the Pirates will see right hander Dan Straily. Straily is 1-1 this year with a 3.92 ERA over 20.2 innings. He has 24 strikeouts and nine walks. The Pirates have seen Straily before as he pitched for the Cincinnati Reds last year. Josh Harrison has faired well against the veteran righty going 4-12 with two home runs and a double. Francisco Cervelli has also seen Straily well going 3-7 with a double and four walks. On the other hand, Andrew McCutchen and Gregory Polanco have struggled against Straily g0ing 4-19 and 1-13 respectively. Last year, Straily led the league in home runs given up with 31. He has given up three this year in four starts. Perhaps the Pirates will be able to hit a few long balls Saturday night.
Sunday afternoon, the Pirates will oppose Tom Koehler. Koehler has struggled thus far with a 5.14 ERA. He has given up six home runs in four starts. David Freese has two home runs against Koehler in five at bats. Polanco has had success against the veteran righty going 5-9 with two doubles. If Koehler continues to get hit hard, this will be yet another opportunity for the Pirates to jumpstart their offense.
Pirates outfielders vs Marlins Park outfield
Marlins Park has one of the most spacious outfields in all of baseball. With the Pirates’ current defensive woes, there’s no certainty that a routine fly ball becomes an out, especially in right field. Looking at the pitching matchups, Jose Osuna will likely start in right field tonight with John Jaso most likely starting the two games after. This may not bode well for the Pirates.
There have been many displays of miscommunication among Pirate outfielders this year. If a ball get by an outfielder at Marlins Park, it often ends up as a triple. A simple misplay could be deadly. With how the Pirates have played in the outfield this season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a misplay result in an inside-the-park home run. It’s been that bad.
With Jameson Taillon, Ivan Nova, and Chad Kuhl pitching this weekend, the outfield will be tested. These guys like to pitch to contact and challenge hitters. Nova in particular basically refuses to throw balls out of the zone. He will give up his fair share of fly balls. Hopefully the defense is ready to shed their current funk and catch the damn ball.
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