Can Pirates bounce back in Miami?
Miami hasn’t received much help from Giancarlo Stanton during the past month. The slugger’s continued absence from the lineup is glaring, however, as the team tries to navigate the competitive waters of the NL East.
Stanton stands to miss his sixth straight contest as the Marlins host the Pirates in tonight’s series opener, with a 7:10 p.m. ET first pitch on the East Coast. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv prefer the visitors as 1.5-run favorites. Don Mattingly’s bunch, on the other hand, represents a +117 underdog.
Sunday’s 6-2 defeat at Texas marked the Buccos’ second setback in a row. Yu Darvish, Martin Perez and the Rangers actually managed to stifle Clint Hurdle’s bats for a change. Pittsburgh (28-21) had averaged six runs over the seven tilts leading up to its trip to Global Life Park.
Thankfully for the Steel City diehards, their favorite players tend to really like facing Miami’s arms. Gregory Polanco totes a career .419 average vs. the Marlins (26-24), while Andrew McCutchen rakes at a .328 clip. The tandem will join forces this afternoon in an attempt to vanquish Justin Nicolino (2-2, 4.37 ERA), who struck out a season-high six in last week’s 4-3 triumph at Tampa Bay.
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Hurdle responds by deploying Jeff Locke (3-3, 5.08), whose primary objective consists of stopping Marcell Ozuna by any means necessary. Miami’s outfielder owns an 11-game hitting streak complete with three homers and seven RBIs. Mattingly should have Christian Yelich (back) back at full strength, too, so anticipate a tight one in South Beach.
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