Game Thread: Trevor Williams and Bucs Look to Build Momentum

The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to build on their 10-2 victory last night, which was just their fifth win since the All-Star Break. The Los Angeles Angels will host them for game two of the three-game series at 10:07 pm Eastern, and the Halos are reeling themselves. The team is four games below .500, having lost eight of their last 10 games. Right-hander Trevor Williams (4-5, 5.06) will take the ball for the Buccos, and he’ll oppose rookie RHP Griffin Canning (4-6, 4.76).

Williams will look to drop his ERA back down below 5.00 after a disastrous start on August 7th ballooned it up to where it stands now. The 27-year-old has struggled to miss bats in two August starts thus far, striking out just three hitters over 11 linnings. Project 34 is at his best when he’s getting ahead in counts early and getting soft contact with pitches around the edge of the zone. He’ll look to get back on track in this west coast matchup.

The 23-year-old Canning is returning from an IL stint due to elbow inflammation which has kept him out since the end of July. The month of July was rough for the rookie, as he allowed 16 runs over 11.2 innings pitched leading up to his most recent start. However, things looked much better prior to the brief injury break, as Canning blanked the Detroit Tigers on four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters in six innings of work.

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Pirates

1 L Adam Frazier 2B

2 S Bryan Reynolds LF

3 R Starling Marte CF

4 S Josh Bell DH

5 L Colin Moran 3B

6 R Jose Osuna 1B

7 R Kevin Newman SS

8 R Jacob Stallings C

9 R Pablo Reyes RF

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Angels

1 R David Fletcher SS

2 R Mike Trout CF

3 L Shohei Ohtani DH

4 R Justin Upton LF

5 L Kole Calhoun RF

6 R Albert Pujols 1B

7 L Matt Thaiss 3B

8 S Luis Rengifo 2B

9 R Max Stassi C