Pittsburgh Pirates Weekend Preview

Coming off a 2-0 win last night, the Pittsburgh Pirates will continue their four-game series vs the Cincinnati Reds this weekend at PNC Park.

Thanks to a fine outing from Jordan Lyles in which he tossed five shutout innings allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out two, as well as some timely hitting from the offense and clutch pitching out of the bullpen, the Pittsburgh Pirates got their second win of the season on Thursday to improve to 2-3.

After blowing two late leads to the Cardinals this week, it was good to see the bullpen hold up last night, dealing four shutout innings between Nick Kingham, Richard Rodriguez and Felipe Vazquez.  With three more games ahead, they’ll need to stay on their A-game in order to handle Cincinnati for the remainder of the series.

Friday (7:05 PM)

Joe Musgrove will make his first start of the year, while former Oakland Athletic and New York Yankee Sonny Gray will make his second as a Red. Musgrove’s only appearance this year was in Cincinnati this past weekend, where he threw two shutout innings in relief in a game the Pirates won 5-0. In the same game, Gray made his Reds debut, but didn’t fare as well, going just two and 1/3 innings allowing five hits and four walks to go along with three runs (two earned).

Saturday (1:35 PM)

Following a terrific performance in his first go-around, Trevor Williams will toe the rubber against former Washington National Tanner Roark. Williams dominated the Reds last Sunday, dealing six shutout innings, striking out three and yielding just three hits. On the other hand, Roark will look to bounce back after getting knocked around by the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks in just four and 1/3 innings of work.

Sunday (1:35 PM)

In the final game of the series, Chris Archer will oppose Anthony DeSclafani, both of which are coming off phenomenal outings. Archer delivered five shutout innings against St. Louis in the home opener, striking out eight. DeSclafani also struck out eight batters over five innings in his first start, allowing just one run to the Brewers on Tuesday.

Players to Watch

• 2B Adam Frazier:  Went 1-2 against Gray last weekend, recorded three hits last night.
• 3B Colin Moran:  Making his first career start as an outfielder on Friday.
• C Tucker Barnhart:  Went 2-3 with a double last night, career .302 hitter vs Pittsburgh (52-160).
• SS Jose Iglesias:  Went 1-3 with a double last night, 4-8 vs Pittsburgh on the season.