Pirates must take July momentum into stretch against three NL West playoff teams

The Pirates finished the month of July with a 15-10 record and now head into August with a tough road ahead. Pittsburgh is currently 2.5 games back of a National League Wild Card spot, and all three teams they play next are ahead of the Pirates in the Wild Card standings.

How important is this four-series stretch against NL West teams for the Pirates?

The Pirates start off this stretch of series against the Diamondbacks, who they just lost two out of three to a weekend ago. The main difference between this upcoming series and the previous series (other than the location: Pittsburgh) are the pitching matchups.

Luis Ortiz will face Brandon Pfaadt in Game 1. Both pitchers pitched in the previous series and did not perform well. Ortiz struggled with command, but allowed just three runs. Pfaadt allowed five runs and earned the win in his outing. The Pirates need Ortiz to command the zone, while the offense needs to jump on Pfaadt early.

Mitch Keller will face Jordan Montgomery in Game 2. Keller threw seven innings and allowed just two runs against Arizona last series. The Pirates did not face Montgomery, but on the season, he has a 6.51 earned run average across 74.2 innings pitched and has a WHIP of 1.69. Opponents are batting .321 against him, so the Pirates need to find ways on base to get on Montgomery early.

In Game 3, not-so-secret weapon Paul Skenes takes the mound against Ryne Nelson. Both the Diamondbacks and Pirates will get fresh looks at these two young arms facing off; nether team has faced either hurler. Skenes has an impressive 1.90 earned run average through 80.2 innings pitched and has a WHIP of 0.90, while Nelson has a 4.53 earned run average across 105.1 innings pitched and has a WHIP of 1.36.

The Pirates must be able to produce runs on offense this series, as the pitching they are facing is not great. They have three star pitchers that have been very effective this season, but they are facing a very tough lineup (and hot) lineup in the 'Burgh.

Pittsburgh is fortunate that they have no left-handed pitchers scheduled to start this series, as the Diamondbacks have one of the best offenses in the game against southpaws. They learned that the hard way with Marco Gonzales last series.

Which other teams in NL playoff hunt will Pirates face after Diamondbacks showdown?

After the Diamondbacks series, San Diego will come to Pittsburgh for a three-game series. The Pirates will face the Padres in two different series after Arizona exits.

The Pirates will likely send out Bailey Falter, Marco Gonzales, and either Luis Ortiz or Jake Woodford in the series. The Padres will be a tough team, as they are 9-1 in their last 10 and they hold the second Wild Card spot entering the weekend.

In between the first and second series against San Diego, the Pirates will also play the Dodgers, who currently lead the NL West by 4.5 games. This will be another tough series for the Pirates, but they should have Keller and Skenes pitching in that series.

The Pirates won the series against the Dodgers earlier in the season. This season, Los Angeles has struggled against higher-velocity arms, so having Skenes and Keller sets the Pirates up well.

Overall, this stretch of games is crucial for the Pirates' postseason chances. They are all tough teams, but if they can go 7-5 or better over this stretch, then it should be considered a big win over the course of 12 games. Going an even 6-6 wouldn’t be bad either, but they need to pick up some ground in the Wild Card race.