Pirates vs. Phillies — 9/23/2021

Pittsburgh Pirates (57-94) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (78-74), Sept. 23, 2021 @ 7:05 p.m.

Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

TV: AT&T Sports Pittsburgh

Radio: 93.7 The Fan

Phillies SB Nation Site: thegoodphight.com

Projected Starters

Pirates: Connor Overton – RHP – (0-0) — 0.00 ERA – 9 total Ks

Phillies: Aaron Nola – RHP – (8-8) – 4.48 ERA – 211 total Ks

Probable Starting Lineups (subject to change)

Pirates

1. Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B

2. Yoshi Tsutsugo — RF

3. Bryan Reynolds — CF

4. Colin Moran – 1B

5. Anthony Alford — LF

6. Cole Tucker — SS

7. Kevin Newman – 2B

8. Michael Perez — C

9. Connor Overton — P

Phillies

1. Odubel Herrera — CF

2. Jean Segura — 2B

3. Bryce Harper – RF

4. Andrew McCutchen – LF

5. Brad Miller – 1B

6. Freddy Galvis – 3B

7. Didi Gregorius — SS

8. Andrew Knapp — C

9. Aaron Nola — P

The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to continue playing the spoiler when they begin a four-game set with the fighting-for-their-playoff-lives Philadelphia Phillies at 7:05 p.m. today at Citizens Bank Park.

Right-hander Connor Overton will make the start for the Pirates while right-hander Aaron Nola will open for the Phillies.

Overton will look to extend his major league record for most career innings pitched without allowing a run. He’s currently at 11 2/3 innings and he set the mark when he reached 10 2/3 innings.

The 28-year-old Overton was designated for assignment by Toronto on Sept. 3 and promptly claimed by the Bucs, who sent him to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Overton joined the big league club and pitched one scoreless inning of relief in his Pirates debut on Sept. 12, then added three more scoreless innings in a start against Cincinnati four days later.

Most recently, Overton worked an inning of relief against the Reds on Monday. When added to his four appearances with Toronto last month, that gave Overton his 11 2/3 scoreless innings. During that time, he has yielded six hits and three walks while striking out nine.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Richmond, Va., native was chosen by the Miami Marlins in the 15^th round of the 2014 draft from Old Dominion University.

He’d been a minor league free agent three times; he joined Washington after leaving Miami and then moved on to San Francisco before landing in Toronto.

Overton spent parts of three seasons in the Giants organization, briefly reaching Triple-A in 2018.

While the Pirates have long been out of contention, they are looking to make life miserable for the Phillies, who are battling Atlanta for the NL East crown. Going into Thursday’s action, the Braves hold a three-game lead and have 12 games remaining while the Phillies have 10 games left.

Neither team has been particularly hot lately; the Phillies are 6-4 in their last 10 and the Braves are 5-5. The Phillies dropped a game in the standings when they lost to the lowly Orioles, 2-0, Monday and had to scratch out a pair of one-run wins over Baltimore Tuesday and Wednesday.