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Pirates vs. Giants - 5/16/21

Can we get a third win in a row?

By BrettBarnett
MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Pittsburgh Pirates (17-22) vs. San Francisco Giants (23-16) – Sun, May 16 @ 1:05 pm

Stadium: PNC Park

TV: AT&T SportsNet

Radio: KDKA

Starting Pitchers

Pirates: Mitch Keller – RHP – (2-4) – 7.81 ERA – 26 total Ks

Giants: Alex Wood – LHP – (4-0) – 1.80 ERA – 29 total Ks

Probable Starting Lineups (subject to last-minute changes)

Giants

  1. Mike Tauchman — CF
  2. Mike Yastrzemski — RF
  3. Buster Posey — C
  4. Brandon Belt — 1B
  5. Alex Dickerson — LF
  6. Evan Longoria — 3B
  7. Brandon Crawford — SS
  8. Mauricio Dubon — 2B
  9. Alex Wood — P

Pirates

  1. Adam Frazier — 2B
  2. Kevin Newman — SS
  3. Bryan Reynolds — CF
  4. Jacob Stallings — C
  5. Will Craig — 1B
  6. Erik Gonzalez — 3B
  7. Tom Ka’ai — LF
  8. Troy Stokes, Jr. — RF
  9. Mitch Keller — P

The Pirates, winners of two consecutive ballgames, will look to earn to series win against the Giants this afternoon. After losing game one, 3-1, Pittsburgh won dramatically each of the last two nights. Friday was capped off when Gregory Polanco hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to deep centerfield; on Saturday night, after Adam Frazier was thrown out at the plate, Jacob Stallings came up with Bryan Reynolds stationed at third and two outs. Stallings promptly unloaded on a ball to left field and ended the game with one swing — and mild bat flip.

This Bucs will face stiff competition from lefty Alex Wood. Wood’s last game against Texas was a 3-1 Giants’ win in which Wood completed seven innings, allowing four hits, one run, and picking up seven strikeouts.

The Pirates will counter with the up-and-down Mitch Keller. Keller continues to try to find his stuff at the major league level; too good for Triple-A and uncomfortable in the major leagues, à la Tyler Glasnow, Keller’s future with Pittsburgh gets murkier by the start.

At the conclusion of today’s game, the Pirates will embark on a weeklong road trip, with two games coming in St. Louis against the Cardinals before a four-game set kicks off in Atlanta against the Braves. After that, the Pirates return home for a six-game home stand, with three games against the Cubs and three games against the Rockies. June starts while the Pirates are in Kansas City to face the Royals.

If you’ve got a thought or comment about the game, be sure to drop it in the comments below.

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