Morning Rundown: Pirates start key home series against Diamondbacks, PJ Hilson has four hit game, Solometo pitches five innings

Pirates face Diamondbacks, Hilson has big night, Solometo pitched five innings

Aug 02, 2024

After going 3-3 on their most recent road trip, the Pittsburgh Pirates return home to face the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game weekend series.

They lost two of three against Arizona last weekend, but this time around, they will have arguably his three best starters—Mitch Keller, Paul Skenes, and Luis Ortiz—going for them.

Ortiz will pitch the first game on Friday, followed by Keller and Skenes on Sunday.

The Pirates enter the series 0.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for second place in the NL Central and 2.5 of a Wild Card spot.

PJ Hilson had four hits for Greensboro, including a double and two RBI, as the Grasshoppers defeated the Winston-Salem Dash 6-2.

Since joining the team, he has played well for the Grasshoppers. In 56 games at High-A, Hilson has hit .278/.349/.485 with 10 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and 32 RBI.

It’s been a tough stretch for Greensboro, who lost their series last week to an Asheville team near the bottom of the standings, but they still sit in first place of the South Atlantic League North.

They also have the second-best run differential in the league.

Anthony Solometo made his second start in Bradenton and tossed five shutout innings, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out another.

The five innings are a season-high and the first he’s pitched that deep since August 25 of last year. In 16 games this year, Solometo has struck out 31 while walking 25 in 44.2 innings pitched.

I’ll have to do a better job of getting ahead and posting here before then, but I was a guest on the Pirates Fan Forum podcast with Gary Morgan and Jim Stamm. We talked trade deadline, with some other prospects related stuff as well.

Have a watch here.

Share Bucs On Deck

LHP Nick Dombkowski assigned to Altoona Curve from Indianapolis Indians
Indianapolis Indians activated LHP Josh Walker

Support the site by becoming a paid member, and get access to all of our premium content, including our Top 25 list with complete player write-ups and video breakdowns, which come out weekly.

It will also give access to my player feature articles from on-site trips.