The Pittsburgh Pirates are in Denver for the second game of a weekend series against the Colorado Rockies.
The Pirates hope to stop a skid of six straight games in which the team has lost when Paul Skenes takes the mound. Skenes has not won a game since March 12, when the Rockies visited PNC Park in Pittsburgh last month. Skenes pitched eight innings of shutout ball, giving up just two hits and striking out 10 batters. Since then, Skenes has not been able to match that level of magic, dropping his next three and four of his next six starts.
There was some promise in his most recent appearance against the Miami Marlins on June 14, when he pitched six innings, giving up just two runs and striking out 10 batters. The Marlins chased him for two runs in the second inning, and Pittsburgh’s offense wasn’t enough to get anything back.
The Pirates will face off against Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, who is having one of the better seasons amongst Colorado starting pitchers. Sugano is 7-4 in 14 starts this season. The 36-year-old pitched five innings and gave up six earned runs against the Athletics on June 14, but the Rockies offense came to play. Colorado’s 23 runs mark the most a team has scored in a game this season.
There’s a good chance the Rockies won’t have that kind of run support with Skenes on the mound tonight.
Location: Coors Field, Denver, CO
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Pitching Matchup: Paul Skenes (6-6, 2.85 ERA) vs. Tomoyuki Sugano (7-4, 4.79 ERA)
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