Gameday 136: Pirates look for series win on the road against the Guardians
Mitch Keller vs Alex Cobb
Luis Ortiz and the Pirates’ bullpen combined to pitch a two-hit shutout of the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday, tying their weekend series at a game apiece.
It’s now back-to-back shutout starts for Ortiz, who pitched six innings on Saturday. Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth and got the save.
Rowdy Tellez drove in two on a pinch-hit single, and Nick Gonzales had three hits for the offense.
Oneil Cruz picked up a pair of singles, and the Pirates stole four bases on the night.
They can take two of three against the Guardians and have Mitch Keller on the mound. They will face veteran Alex Cobb for the Guardians.
First pitch is scheduled for 1:40 pm ET.
Pirates Lineup
SS - Isiah Kiner-Falefa
LF - Bryan Reynolds
DH - Oneil Cruz
2B - Nick Gonzales
1B - Rowdy Tellez
RF - Bryan De La Cruz
3B - Jared Triolo
CF - Michael A. Taylor
C - Henry Davis
Guardian Lineup
LF - Steven Kwan
2B - Andres Gimenez
3B - Jose Ramirez
1B - Josh Naylor
RF - Jhonkensy Noel
DH - Kyle Manzardo
CF - Lane Thomas
SS - Brayan Rocchio
C - Austin Hedges
Pitching Matchup
PIT - Mitch Keller (11-8, 3.84 ERA, 152.1 IP, 42 BB, 138 K)
CLE - Alex Cobb (1-1, 4.35 ERA, 10.1 IP, 3 BB, 4 K)
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Davis has hit a few balls hard with nothing to show from it. Hopefully signs of improvement. I think if Michael Taylor makes contact an angel gets its wings
It feels like the Pirates are the only team that couldn't capitalize financially on having Paul Skenes and a winning record going into August. They have 13 home games left and they are 103,400 fans behind last year's attendance. That means they will improve over last year, especially with a fireworks night and Clemente night still remaining, even though the teams they play will have little interest, plus more than half are on school nights/days. There are other nights that will draw too, $1 dog, Negro League Legacy game, fan appreciation day.
Here's the thing though. They have already had 11 Skenes home games, so you would think that the ticket improvement year-over-year would be substantial. They were helped out last September by three Yankees games that drew 93,000 total. That's not happening with the National, Marlins, Royals or Brewers over the rest of this year. They are going to barely improve with a built in megaboost.