Gameday 141: Luis Ortiz on the mound as the Pirates continue series against Nationals
Luis Ortiz vs DJ Herz
After allowing three runs in the first inning, the Pirates used a five-run second to propel them to a 9-4 win in the first of four this weekend against the Washington Nationals.
Nick Gonzales drove in three for the offense, and Bailey Falter picked up his seventh win of the season.
Their attention will now turn to trying to clinch at least a series split with a win on Friday.
Luis Ortiz will pitch for the Pirates, coming off a win in his last start after throwing six shutout innings against the Cleveland Guardians.
He will face DJ Herz, the rookie lefty for the Nationals, who has 88 strikeouts in 70.1 innings pitched. Herz, 23, also has a 3.65 xFIP and 1.3 fWAR. According to Baseball Savant, he throws primarily a fastball, change-up, and slider but has also mixed in a knuckle curve (3.4%).
First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm ET.
Pirates Lineup
SS - Isiah Kiner-Falefa
LF - Bryan Reynolds
C - Joey Bart
DH - Andrew McCutchen
CF - Oneil Cruz
1B - Connor Joe
RF - Bryan De La Cruz
3B - Jared Triolo
2B - Alika Williams
Nationals Lineup
SS - CJ Abrams
LF - James Wood
DH - Andres Chaparro
2B - Luis Garcia
C - Keibert Ruiz
3B - Jose Tena
RF - Dylan Crews
1B - Joey Gallo
CF - Jacob Young
Pitching Matchup
PIT - Luis Ortiz (6-4, 3.19 ERA, 113 IP, 35 BB, 88 K)
WSH - DJ Herz (2-7, 4.09 ERA, 70.1 IP, 26 BB, 88 K)
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I hope the Pirates learn something from Ortiz. Most likely, next year's rotation will have Keller, Skenes, Jones, Ortiz and Falter. I'd like to see them go with (depending on health) Harrington, Burrows and/or Ashcraft in roles similar to what Ortiz played in the first half this year. Weaverizing is real!
Esmerlyn Valdez hit #22. It'd be nice if they moved him to Greensboro for the playoffs.