Still in It: The Mariners Come to PNC

The Pirates are back at PNC after losing two of three to the Rockies, which is not how you want to come home, but here they are at 39-39 and still hanging around. They are fourth in the NL Central and 8.5 back of the Brewers. That is a real gap, but still well within striking distance. If this team ever puts together a good run, and they are capable of one, they would be right back in the mix for the division. They just have not shown they can go on that kind of run yet this year. They sit only a game and a half out of a Wild Card spot, with a good chunk of the National League hanging around .500 right there with them. Either way, it starts with the next series, and the Mariners are in for three starting Tuesday.

Seattle comes in at 40-39 and leading the AL West, which has not been a strong division this year. They are a pitching team first. Their staff ranks fifth in baseball in ERA, so the Pirates are going to have to work for their runs. The offense has been the weaker part of their team, and they are banged up there right now, with Randy Arozarena down about a week and Brendan Donovan out since the middle of May. Their young hitters have been coming along, so this is not a lineup to sleep on, especially against a Pirates bullpen and defense that have both been shaky so far this year. Both teams have their warts, which is a lot of why they are each sitting at .500.

The offense is still very much the strength of the Pirates. They are fourth in the majors in OPS, though they have struggled a bit without Oneil Cruz and Konnor Griffin. Bryan Reynolds has carried a lot of the load of late and Horwitz has found his stride, but Lowe and O’Hearn have slowed somewhat. Lowe always has that HR swing in him, and both remain dangerous regardless of their June struggles. The bats went quiet for a couple of games in Colorado before breaking out in the finale, which is more in line with who they have been up to this point. Getting Cruz and Griffin back will make this group deeper, and that is before they get to potential trade deadline additions if they continue to hang around in the Wild Card race.

On the mound, this is one of the more favorable matchups they will get. Seattle does not score a ton, so I think Pirates pitchers can keep these games close. The bullpen is clearly still a question mark, but I think there are greener pastures on the horizon. Ramírez and Sisk looked good in relief yesterday, and Mlodzinski looked solid the day before in 2 innings of work. Mason Montgomery is likely to pitch at some point this series and he didn’t fare so well in his last outing, taking the loss in the first game against the Rockies. Then in the finale, Santana and Soto turned an 8-1 lead into an 8-6 finish. Santana had looked better in a few recent outings prior to this one, though, and Soto has done well enough to make him the most reliable bullpen option so far. Like I said above, I do think it firms up as the season goes, and this could be the series where they show what they are truly capable of.

So it is two teams sitting right at .500, both a little dinged up and both coming off a 4-6 stretch, which should make for a competitive series. I think the Pirates take this one at home. The pitching matchups are George Kirby vs Mitch Keller on Tuesday, Bryan Woo vs Braxton Ashcraft on Wednesday, and Bryce Miller vs Bubba Chandler on Thursday. Seattle does have a plan to do some piggyback starts with each of their starters in the coming games so we will be seeing that in this series.

Some injury notes for the Pirates:

• Konnor Griffin is likely to start a rehab assignment this week.
• Wilber Dotel has thrown a bullpen and is trending in the right direction for a return.
• Cruz remains out without any baseball activities.

Let’s go Bucs!