Pittsburgh Pirates Matchups to Watch: San Diego Padres

The Pittsburgh Pirates visit Petco Park for a three game series to start their 10-game early season West Coast trip. Here are the matchups to watch.

Heading into the third week of the Major League Baseball season, the Pirates find themselves one game over the .500 mark with a 7-6 record. They currently sit in third place in the National League Central Division, trailing the second place St Louis Cardinals by half a game and the first place Chicago Cubs by 2.5 games. Tonight, the Pirates begin a ten game road trip with a three game series against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Here are three matchups to keep an eye on as the Bucs try to keep pace in the NL Central race early on in the season.

3.) Francisco Liriano vs Matt Kemp and Derek Norris

Left hander Francisco Liriano is expected to return to the mound tonight against the San Diego Padres after missing his last start due to a tight hamstring. Liriano, who is 1-1 with a 1.00 ERA in three career starts at Petco Park, has had success against a couple of the newer members of the Padres roster. Both Matt Kemp and Derek Norris were new to the Padres in 2015, but they are not new to struggling when facing Liriano. In 11 career at-bats against Liriano, Kemp is hitting .091 with only one hit and five strikeouts. Norris hasn’t been much better against the Pirates Opening Day starter, compiling a .077 batting average in 13 at-bats. Based on Liriano’s success against both Kemp and Norris, their at-bats should definitely earn a closer look as the Pirates look to extend their winning streak to three games.

2.) Gregory Polanco vs Drew Pomeranz

One of the most pleasant surprises at this early point in the Pirates season has been the improved approach at the plate for Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco. The 24-year old, who signed a five-year extension with the Pirates on April 5, is hitting .302 with seven RBI in 13 games this season. Polanco also ranks tied for second in the Major Leagues with 13 walks, while he has only struck out seven times all season.

Tomorrow night, Drew Pomeranz is expected to take the mound for the Padres, marking the first time this season that the Pirates will face a left-handed starter and Polanco, who has historically struggled against left-handed pitching, will provide an interesting matchup to watch.

In 2014, Polanco hit .171 with six walks and 20 strikeouts in 82 at-bats against left handed pitching, while he hit .190 with nine walks and 36 strikeouts in 126 at-bats in 2015. Due to his improved approach at the plate, Polanco has had early success against left-handed relief pitching this season with three walks and one strikeout in four at-bats. This is what makes this matchup intriguing. Pomeranz could find himself in a tough battle against Polanco all night long. It will be interesting to see whether Polanco’s struggles against left-handed pitching continue or if his new patient approach will lead to success.

1.) Gerrit Cole vs Jon Jay

Last season, Pirates starter Gerrit Cole proved to be the undisputed ace of the pitching staff, following a season in which he went 19-8 with a 2.60 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 208 innings pitched. Cole also finished fourth in Cy Young voting and was named to his first career all-star game. Not only did Cole establish himself as an ace for the Bucs last season, but he got off to a fast start in 2015, compiling a 4-0 record with a 1.76 ERA and 35 strikeouts in five starts to begin the season.

This season has been a different story for the 25-year old as he has struggled in his first two starts of the 2016 season. So far this year, Cole is 0-2 with a 4.22 ERA and nine strikeouts in 10.2 innings. Cole is expected to pitch Thursday night against James Shields and could provide some solid matchups despite not having a ton of experience against players on the Padres roster. In his career against San Diego, Cole is 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA in three starts.

One Padres player in particular that Cole is familiar with is outfielder Jon Jay, who is in his first year with San Diego after spending six years in the NL Central with the St Louis Cardinals. Cole has been somewhat stellar against Jay throughout his career, compiling two strikeouts and surrendering three hits and three walks. This particular matchup could go either way if Jay is indeed in the lineup, but the odds could end up being in Cole’s favor.

This series against the Padres is only the start of a long road trip for the Pirates, who don’t return back to  PNC Park until April 29. They follow this series up with a three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks and a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies. In the next couple of days, Pirates fans should expect to be ready for some late night baseball filled with exciting matchups that fans are not going to want to miss.