Pittsburgh Pirates: Previewing First Trip of the Season to Milwaukee

PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 13: Chad Kuhl #39 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action against the San Diego Padres at PNC Park on April 13, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 13: Chad Kuhl #39 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action against the San Diego Padres at PNC Park on April 13, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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Apr 12, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Trevor Cahill (35) delivers a pitch against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Trevor Cahill (35) delivers a pitch against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Game Two
Date: Saturday, April 17, 2021
Time: 7:10 PM EST
Pitching Matchup: Trevor Cahill (8.00 ERA, 4.03 FIP) vs Brett Anderson (4.50 ERA, 6.94 FIP)

Veteran righty Trevor Cahill will look to build off of his strong bounce back outing in his last start. After allowing 7 runs in 4 innings in his first start of the season, he limited the Padres to 1 run while striking out 8 in 5 innings of work on Monday night.

Cahill’s fastball command was much better in his second start and his breaking stuff had more bite. Following his first start Pirate manager Derek Shelton mentioned Cahill’s late start to Spring Training due to signing late impacting his outing and on Monday night he looked like a pitcher who has knocked off a lot of rust.

Like Cahill, Anderson is a veteran righty. Also like Cahill, Anderson allowed 1 run in just 5 innings in his second start after struggling in his first start of the season.

Anderson started the season by allowing 4 runs and 3 home runs in 5 innings pitched against the Chicago Cubs. In start number two he allowed just a solo home run in 5 innings of work against the St. Louis Cardinals.

At this point of his career Anderson is a soft tossing righty who will not generate very many strikeouts. He has also allowed 4 runs through his first 10 innings of the season. This could be a good matchup for Adam Frazier, Bryan Reynolds, Colin Moran and Gregory Polanco. Factor in Miller Park being a good hitters park and there could be a lot of runs scored on Saturday night.