Pirates vs. Padres Series Preview

The Padres are back home after a 1-4 road trip vs. their division rival Rockies and Dodgers. The 4 game set provides an opportunity for the team to push reset and get back on track.

The Pirates are no pushovers, coming into the series at 21-19. They’ve played good ball in May with an 8-5 record.

Pitching matchups

Trevor Williams 2-1 3.40 ERA vs. Eric Lauer 2-4 5.75 ERA

Jordan Lyles 3-1 2.09 ERA vs. Joey Lucchesi 3-2 4.57 ERA

TBD vs. Nick Margevicius 2-4 4.14 ERA

Joe Musgrove 2-4 3.59 ERA vs. TBD

Hitters to watch

Manny Machado 11/27 1 HR 4 RBI .452 OBP .407 BA last 7 games

Franmil Reyes 10/30 3 HR 7 RBI .333 OBP .333 BA last 7 games

Josh Bell 14/28 3 HR 12 RBI .548 OBP .500 BA last 7 games

Melky Cabrera 8/25 0 HR 2 RBI .346 OBP .320 BA last 7 games

The Padres will send their young lefties in 3 consecutive nights against the Pirates. It’s worth noting that the teams are pretty equal when it comes to hitting. Unfortunately for both, they’re ranked near the bottom in runs scored per game in the NL. The Padres are averaging 3.84 runs per game, while the Pirates are averaging 3.7. That’s good for 13th and 14th out of 15 respectively.

From a pitching stand point, the Padres seem to have the edge. The Pirates are giving up 4.88 runs per game compared to the Padres 4.21. For reference, the league average is 4.53. That puts the Padres in the Top 5 in the National League. The Padres surprisingly have the Bullpen edge as well. The Pirates are allowing 42% of inherited runners to score, while the Padres are averaging 34%. Both are above the league average, but the Padres pitchers are coming in during high leverage situations more often, which is important to note.

The Padres have the better team hands down, so this will be a fun series to watch. They have a chance to take ³⁄₄ if they can break out of their recent hitting slump. Look for their trio of lefties to play a big role and pitch deep into games.