Pittsburgh Pirates Look to Finish 2017 Season with a Victory

Sunday afternoon is the final game of the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates

The 2017 Major League Baseball regular season is coming to an end. At 3:00 o’clock on Sunday afternoon all 32 teams will play the final game of their regular seasons. This means that Sunday is the last time the Pittsburgh Pirates will play until Spring Training games in March.

On Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates will look to end what has been a very disappointing season on a high note. Seemingly everything that could wrong for the 2017 Pittsburgh Baseball Club did indeed go wrong. This combined with an inconsistent bullpen and a poor offense has led to the Bucs entering the final game of their season with a record of 74-87.

Steven Brault will make the start for the Pirates against the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Nationals, who will begin the National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, will send lefty Gio Gonzalez to the hill.

After being named the International League Pitcher of the Year at Triple-A this season, Brault has also had a strong year at the Major League level. In 10 games (three starts) Steven Brault has allowed 35 hits, just two home runs, and is averaging just 2.76 BB/9 in 32 2/3 innings pitched. He owns a 3.86 ERA, 3.89 FIP, and has made a strong case to be part of the Pirate rotation in 2018.

If Brault and the Pirates can earn a victory on Sunday afternoon, they will split their season ending four-game series with the Nationals. This is due to the Bucs rallying to score 4 runs in the ninth inning last night in a 4-1 victory over the Nationals.

The lineup the Pirates will go with this afternoon is as follows:

1. Chris Bostick – 2B
2. Starling Marte – LF
3. Andrew McCutchen – CF
4. Josh Bell – 1B
5. David Freese – 3B
6. Jordan Luplow – RF
7. Max Moroff – SS
8. Jacob Stallings – C
9. Steven Brault – SP

After missing last night’s game due to fouling a pitch off his foot on Friday night, Andrew McCutchen returns to the lineup this afternoon. While I expect McCutchen to be back with the Pirates in 2018, it remains possible that today is his final game with the Pirates. In case it is, it is great to see him back in the lineup.

Next: Recap of the 2017 West Virginia Power

After Sunday, the Pittsburgh Pirates will not play a game again until Spring Training. They will not play a regular season game again until Opening Day 2018 on March 29 when they travel to Detroit. Here’s to hoping the Bucs can finish 2017 with a victory.