Series Preview: Pirates hope to continue strong start against Nationals

PIRATES' PROJECTED STARTERS

The Pirates used four different starting lineups in their opening series against the Miami Marlins but we do have a good idea of who will start for the Pirates this week at each position.

C - Henry Davis
1B - Connor Joe
2B - Jared Triolo
3B - Ke'Bryan Hayes
SS - Oneil Cruz
LF - Bryan Reynolds
CF - Michael A. Taylor
RF - Edward Olivares
DH - Andrew McCutchen

ANALYSIS:

The Pirates bats had a strong start to the season, hitting .284/.382/.432 as a team. The Buccos went deep four times but drove in 46 total runs in the series. They'll now look to carry that success over

Henry Davis had a tough first three games of his season, going 2-for-12 but does appear to be seeing the ball well with three walks. It was also a tough start for Jack Suwinski (2-for-14) and Andrew McCutchen (0-for-9). We'll see how many at-bats either gets in this series. 

On the positive side of things, Ke'Bryan Hayes is off to a great start with eight hits in his first 18 at-bats. He also has four RBI and four walks in his first 23 plate appearances in total. 

Also off to strong starts at the plate include Michael A. Taylor (5-for-13, 3 RBI), ONeil Cruz (5-for-14, 1 HR, 2 RBI), Edwarard Olivares (4-for-12, 1 HR, 3 RBI ), Bryan Renyolds (6-for-19, 1 HR, 5 RBI), and Connor Joe (6-for-19, 3 RBI).