Series: Pirates vs. Nationals, PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
TV, radio: Root Sports, WPGB-FM (104.7).
Facts/Reaction: The Pirates return home after a road trip with mixed results. They took 3 of 4 from the NL Central leading Reds and then were shut out in the first two games of their series against the Marlins in South Florida. Now with a team that only won 17 road games all of last season (I know I bring that stat up all the time but geez how terrible is a 17-65 road record) a road trip in which you return home from after going 3-4 has to be considered an somewhat of a success even though the feeling leaving Cincinnati is much different than the one that Pirates have now after being swept in Miami. The other problem has to be that they were shut out twice on the road trip and from the last few games they played at home (1 run in 2 games against the Brewers) there isn't much hope for a bump in offensive production from playing in the friendly confines of PNC Park.
Pitching Probables:
Stats and Matchup: The Pirates look to improve on their record at home as they take on the Washington Nationals. The Pirates are 1-5 at home this season and have have yet to play a good game in from of the home crowd. Coincidentally the Pirates were also 1-5 against the Nats last year with their only win coming on September 3rd in Pittsburgh. On Saturday night the Pirates will face Jason Marquis who is 11-6 in his career against the Bucs with a 3.57 ERA in 22 starts. Although Marquis has had great success against the Pirates, some Bucs have done pretty well against him. One such player is Ryan Doumit, who is a career .357 hitter with 1 HR and 3 RBI in 15 AB. After a hot start to the season, the Pirate bats have cooled off considerably in the recent weeks. The Buccos now have no regular starter hitting over .300 and 6 of the 8 regulars are hitting at or below .261. The only position players above that line are Jose Tabata who has struggled mightily in his past few games and Chris Snyder who only has 18 AB on the season. Oh boy...sounds like the same old Pirates.
Prediction: The second road trip of the season got off to a positive note for the Pirates by taking 3 of 4 from the Reds in Cincinnati. With a great deal of momentum the Pirates cruised into Miami and promptly got their tails handed to them by the Marlins scoring a total of zero runs in the first two games of the series. So far this season it seems that the Pirates have struggled to carry momentum from series to series and therefore have struggled to put together any sort of winning streak with their longest being just 2 games. I truly believe that this home stand, against the Nationals and the World Champion Giants, will tell us a lot about the type of team the Pirates will have this season. The Pirates desperately need to play well in front of the "faithful" at PNC Park. This group of Pittsburgh Pirates really isn't that bad. Sure they aren't scoring runs as I stated above, the entire team is in a slump. That won't continue. Cutch is going to break out, Tabata will get it back and most importantly Alvarez will begin to hit for an average that is above his current weight. The Buccos need a good showing in these next 6 games to prove to themselves and their fans that the6 games to prove to themselves and their fans that they are actually worth paying to see on a regular basis. As for a prediction, I think the Pirates will take 2 of 3 from the Nationals this weekend. They know they have some work to do in proving themselves to the die hard and casual fan alike and I think they take the first step against the Nats. I guarantee a victory on Saturday night. I know this because statistics don't lie. The Pirates are 12-1-2 in weekend night games, coming on days before the summer solstice when the promotion is either a bobblehead or figurine. That's what I call a sure thing.
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