Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Padres
- Friday: 6:40 p.m. (Padres.TV)
- Saturday: 6:40 p.m. (Padres.TV, CBS)
- Sunday: 2:10 p.m. (Padres.TV)
In the standings
Pittsburgh Pirates (21-36, 5th in NL Central)
The Pirates are already 14½ games off the Cubs’ pace in the division and 11 ½ games out of a wild-card spot. Only the Rockies (.161) and Orioles (.345) have a worse winning percentage than the Pirates (.368). The Pirates have the fifth-worst run differential (minus-60). They rank 27th in OPS (.643), undermining a rotation that ranks 11th (3.73 ERA). Pittsburgh’s bullpen ranks 21st (4.42 ERA). Pittsburgh is 9-10 since Don Kelly replaced Derek Shelton as manager.
San Diego Padres (31-23, 2nd in NL West)
The Padres had won three in a row before letting a sweep of the Marlins slip through their fingers on Wednesday. They are two games behind the Dodgers in the division and two games behind the Mets, the current holder of the NL’s top wild-card spot. The Padres went 6-0 against the Pirates last year and won the first three games this year in Pittsburgh by a combined score of 15-5.
Trending
Pittsburgh: With RHP Paul Skenes pitching on Wednesday, the Padres are 4-for-4 in missing last year’s rookie of the year. Pittsburgh’s offense has ticked up in the last week (.804 OPS), led by OF Oneil Cruz pairing four homers with a 1.191 OPS over that stretch. Three other Pirates have an OPS over 1.000 over the last week: OF Bryan Reynolds (1.173), INF Adam Frazier (1.062) and C Henry Davis (1.051). On the flip side, 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes has a .262 OPS over the last week.
San Diego: DH Gavin Sheets owns five of the team’s 11 home runs over the last week, as he’s hitting .276/.323/.723 for a team-best 1.116 OPS. 3B Manny Machado has three homers and a 1.030 OPS over that stretch and 2B Jake Cronenworth has one homer and a .931 OPS. Meantime, OF Fernando Tatis Jr. has one homer and a .476 OPS over his last seven games.
Pitching matchups
Friday
Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (1-6, 3.66 ERA) | He has a 2.88 ERA in four road starts so far this year and has allowed two runs or less in each of his last three starts (1.89 ERA). The Padres beat Keller in early May in Pittsburgh, scoring five runs — four earned — in five innings. Keller struck out three, walked one and hit a batter. He has a 6.10 ERA in six starts (31 IP) in his career against the Padres.
Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (5-2, 2.72 ERA) | He has 14 strikeouts and two earned runs over his last two starts (12 IP). Pivetta is 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA in five starts so far at Petco Park, while lefties have a .469 OPS so far this season compared to righties’ .683. He has a 1.96 ERA in 23 career innings (5 games, 4 starts) against the Pirates, but he has not faced them since allowing three runs — one earned — in five innings in a loss in 2023.
Saturday
Pirates LHP Bailey Falter (3-3, 3.47 ERA) | He has a 0.92 ERA in five May starts, striking out 18 against 12 walks over 29⅓ innings. That includes allowing one run in seven innings in a no-decision against the Padres in Pittsburgh to start that run. Falter has allowed four runs in 10⅔ innings in the regular season in his career against the Padres. He did, however, allow four runs in two-thirds of an inning for the Phillies in Game 4 of the 2022 NLCS against the Padres.
Padres RHP Dylan Cease (1-3, 4.58 ERA) | His start against the Pirates on May 2 (4 IP, 2 ER) was the last time that Cease did not complete five innings. Since then, Cease has a 3.20 ERA and a 33-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 25⅓ innings. Cease has a 2.87 Era in four career starts against the Pirates, striking out 14 against four walks over 15⅔ innings.
Sunday
Pirates LHP Andrew Heaney (3-4, 3.41 ERA) | The 33-year-old is averaging just 6.5 strikeouts per nine innings, well below his career average (9.3). Heaney has allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his 11 starts this year, but the Padres beat him in early May with four runs in 3⅔ innings in Pittsburgh. Heaney has a 1.99 ERA in 31 ⅔ career innings against the Padres.
Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (3-4, 3.58 ERA) | He tied a season-high with five walks over five innings of one-run ball in a no-decision in Pittsburgh in early May. Since then, Vásquez has struck out 19 against three walks while posting a 3.13 ERA over four starts (23 IP). Lefties still hit Vásquez hard but an .864 OPS is an improvement on last year’s .961 OPS against lefties.
Team leaders
- OPS: Pirates—OF Oneil Cruz (.841), SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa (.724), DH Andrew McCutchen (.719); Padres—3B Manny Machado (.865), OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.843), DH Gavin Sheets (.833 OPS).
- Homers: Pirates—Cruz (12), OF Bryan Reynolds (7), McCutchen (3), OF Alexander Canario (3); Padres—Tatis (13), Sheets (11), Machado (6).
- RBIs: Pirates—Reynolds (31), Cruz (26), 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (16); Padres—Sheets (34), Tatis (28), Machado (25).
- Steals: Pirates—Cruz (18), Kiner-Falefa (8), Hayes (6); Padres—SS Xander Bogaerts (11), Tatis (9), Machado (7), OF Brandon Lockridge (7).
- Saves: Pirates—RHP David Bednar (6-for-6, 4.86 ERA); RHP Dennis Santana (5-for-5, 1.54 ERA); Padres—RHP Robert Suarez (17-for-19, 2.35 ERA)
- Holds: Pirates—Santana (7), LHP Ryan Borucki (6, 4.64 ERA), LHP Caleb Ferguson (6, 3.86 ERA); Padres—RHP Jason Adam (13, 1.32 ERA), RHP Jeremiah Estrada (9, 2.56 ERA), LHP Adrián Morejón (7, 3.09 ERA).
Training room
Pittsburgh: C Joey Bart hit the concussion list on Thursday, a day after taking a backswing to the head. RHP Jared Jones (UCL) won’t return until next year. Other notable Pirates on the injured list include RHP Colin Holderman (thumb), RHP Johan Oviedo (UCL, lat), INF Enmanuel Valdez (shoulder) and 2B Nick Gonzales (ankle).
San Diego: The Padres are still getting to the bottom of the scapula issue that’s at the heart of the shoulder injury that sent RHP Michael King to the injured list on Sunday. RHP Yu Darvish (elbow) has not thrown a bullpen since his mid-May rehab start for Triple-A El Paso and remains without a timetable. Meantime, RHPs Matt Waldron (oblique) and Bryan Hoeing (shoulder) are rehabbing with El Paso. OF Jason Heyward (oblique) is on the injured list for the second time this season.
