In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pittsburgh Pirates swept the Cincinnati Reds this weekend and have now won nine straight games. With this team now 51-49, they find themselves just four games back of the second wild card spot.
This team truly went form dead in the water to playoff hopefuls in a two week span. Say what you want about Clint Hurdle the baseball decider, but this man has a knack for leading resilient teams.
The job is not done though. Not even close.
The Pirates will face off against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field starting tonight at 7:10. This will be a true test for the Pirates as the Indians will be tossing two Cy Young-caliber starters in the series.
Corey Kluber gets the nod tonight against Trevor Williams. Kluber was the Cy Young winner last year and in 2014. This season, he is 12-5 with a 2.76 ERA. He has 132 strikeouts to just 17 walks in 133.2 innings. His fWAR is 2.8 this season, 13th in the bigs.
On Sunday, the Pirates will face Trevor Bauer. Bauer is having a breakout season of sorts and is a candidate for the Cy Young award. On the season, he is 8-6 with a 2.44 ERA. He has 182 strikeouts and 47 walks in 140.1 innings. He is second among all pitchers in baseball with an fWAR of 5.1.
Will the Pirates’ bats stay hot even against elite pitching? Can they extend their winning streak? How much more winning is needed for this team to be buyers at the trade deadline?
These are reasonable questions that will be answered in the coming days.
#BUCSin280
#RAISEIT SWEEEEP. #Pirates beat the #Reds 9-2 and have now won 9 straight games. Another slugfest for the Bucs as Polanco, Dickerson, Marte, and SeanRod all went yak city. 15 hits today. Nova went 6.2 while allowing 2 earned. Solid outing. He even picked up a hit (!!!) #BUCSin280
— Pirates Breakdown (@piratebreakdown) July 22, 2018
Baseball on the web
- Noah Syndergaard has hand, foot, and mouth disease.
- Chris Archer is gaining trade interest.
- Check out this super slow pitch.
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