Patience Will Be Key For The Pittsburgh Pirates This Afternoon

With Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Yu Darvish struggling with control, patience will be key for the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon. So, tune in and see what happens my friends!

The 44-45 Pittsburgh Pirates are ready to begin the second half of their season. Despite being below .500, the Pirates are just 2.5 games out of first place in the National League Central division. The first place team in the division? The Chicago Cubs.

Luckily, the Cubs are who the Pirates face this weekend. Leading the way for the Cubs on Friday will be starting pitcher Yu Darvish.

Control has been a major issue for Darvish this season. In 97 innings pitched (18 starts) Darvish has issued 49 walks which is 4th most in the NL. His 11.7% walk rate? Well, that’s 3rd highest in the NL among pitches with at least 80 innings pitched.

So, it goes without saying that patience is vital for Pirate hitters this afternoon.

Control issues are nothing new for Darvish. In two seasons with the Cubs, Darvish owns a 11.7% walk rate in 137 innings pitched. This, as you may have expected, is well above league average.

This weekend presents a great opportunity for the Pirates. They enter this series against the Cubs 2.5 games out of first place in the NL Central division. With a series sweep and some help from the San Francisco Giants against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pirates could be in  first place by Monday morning,

Even if not, with good patience, the Bucs could take a step toward making up ground with a win on Friday afternoon.

Friday afternoon is the Pittsburgh Pirates first step toward trying to steal a division title. Or a NL Wild Card berth. This includes being patient hitters on Friday afternoon. Josh Bell, Bryan Reynolds, Kevin Newman, and company, let’s get it done, friends.