The Pittsburgh Pirates have a chance to end their eight-year postseason drought with just 60 games left in the regular season.
The red-hot Pirates continue their push when they battle the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Phoenix.
Pittsburgh has won 10 of its past 13 games and is in the thick of the National League wild-card race. The Pirates and Diamondbacks are among three teams within 1 1/2 games of the third wild-card spot, making this a pivotal series.
Pittsburgh enters a six-game road trip against the Diamondbacks and Houston Astros with confidence after taking four of six home games to earn series wins over the major-league-leading Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals.
“Very important,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of the success. “We get the best team in baseball, and then we get the team that’s ahead of us in the division. … We have to continue to play well, but very proud of how we responded coming out of the (All-Star) break.”
The Pirates were hoping to have All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds back for the opener after he sat out Wednesday’s 5-0 win over the Cardinals with back spasms, but he was placed on the bereavement list on Thursday.
Reynolds has been hot in July with five homers and 15 RBIs while batting .352 in 71 at-bats. Overall, he is batting .288 with 18 homers and 61 RBIs.
Ironically, Reynolds’ first absence of the season led to Rowdy Tellez’s late insertion into the lineup. The move paid off as Tellez, a lefty hitter having to face a left-handed pitcher, hit a 447-foot homer into the river beyond the right field seats.
It was Tellez’s second homer against a left-hander this season.
“It’s not like it’s foreign to face lefties in my career,” said Tellez, “so it was just going in and understanding who was pitching and doing the homework I needed to do and being ready for it.”
Arizona just finished a six-game road trip in which it took two of three from both the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals.
Overall, the Diamondbacks have won eight of the past 11 games, including an 8-6 victory over the Royals on Wednesday.
Arizona trailed 4-3 entering the ninth but scored five times. Gabriel Moreno’s two-run double gave the Diamondbacks the lead, and All-Star Ketel Marte later added a three-run homer.
“Moreno was the right guy in the right spot (Wednesday), and behind him was Ketel with another huge knock,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We talk about those things. What are we going to look like in the most critical moments? It was a character win, and the guys dug as deep as they could.”
Marte went deep in all three games of the series against Kansas City and was 6-of-12 with seven RBIs.
“He’s a beast. I don’t know what else to say,” Lovullo said of Marte. “He doesn’t surprise me. I’ve seen him do it over and over again. He wants to be in the middle of everything. That’s his personality, and it was a big knock for him.”
Pittsburgh right-hander Luis Ortiz (5-2, 2.57 ERA) will attempt to slow down Marte in the opener.
Ortiz, 25, is coming off a solid performance as he blanked the Phillies on three hits over seven innings in a 4-1 victory on Saturday.
In his last three starts, Oritz has allowed one run and 11 hits over 18 2/3 innings. He is 1-0 during the stretch.
Ortiz has never faced Arizona.
The Diamondbacks hadn’t named a starter by Thursday night, but it would Zac Gallen’s turn in the rotation.
Gallen (7-5, 3.64 ERA) last pitched on Saturday, when he picked a victory by blanking the host Chicago Cubs for five innings in an eventual 3-0 win. In four starts in his career against the Pirates, he is 2-2 with a 3.04 ERA. He has surrendered 20 hits and nine walks while striking out 19 in 23 2/3 innings.
If and when the Diamondbacks turn to their bullpen on Friday, they might have a newcomer available. Arizona acquired left-hander A.J. Puk from the Miami Marlins on Thursday in exchange for two prospects, infielder Deyvison De Los Santos and center fielder Andrew Pintar.
Puk, will team with Joe Mantiply to give the Diamondbacks a second left-handed reliever, began the year poorly as a starting pitcher but has shined since moving back to the bullpen. He is 4-4 with one save, seven holds and a 2.08 ERA across 28 relief appearances in 2024.
–Field Level Media
