After getting trounced in the first game back from the All-Star break, the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to sneak out a win against the Miami Marlins in game two on Saturday night.
The offense remained consistent, showing a lack of life throughout the majority of the game. They were 0-7 with RISP before Yoshi Tsutsugo was able to finally get a hit that pushed a run across for the Pirates to take a 1-0 lead.
It was a fantastic start for Jose Quintana who has a very high probability of having stepped on the mound for the last time this season with the Pirates (I’m saying this season, cause maybe they’ll think about bringing him back for 2023).
The Pirates have a very tall task ahead of themselves, facing the clear front-runner for NL Cy Young in Sandy Alcantara.
The good news is that Mitch Keller is in the midst of the best stretch of his career. Since adding a sinker on May 18th, he’s thrown 56.1 innings across nine starts, while carrying a 3.36 ERA. That ERA is backed up by a 3.38 FIP and 3.72 xFIP.
In just his last two starts alone — one of which was against the Marlins two weeks ago — Keller has thrown 13 innings while allowing only one earned run.
There’s nine more business days before the trade deadline when the roster could take on a very different look (Maybe. Hard maybe).
Marlins @ Pirates
Time: 1:35 PM EST
Pirates Starter: Mitch Keller (3-7, 4.55)
Marlins Starter: Sandy Alcantara (9-4, 1.76)
LINEUPS:
Pirates
Series finale.#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/AqvbBl1Sas
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 24, 2022
Marlins
1. Joey Wendle (L) 2B
2. Miguel Rojas (R) SS
3. Jesus Aguilar (R) 1B
4. Avisail Garcia (R) DH
5. JJ Bleday (L) CF
6. Bryan De La Cruz (R) RF
7. Jesus Sanchez (L) LF
8. Willians Astudillo (R) 3B
9. Jacob Stallings (R) C
