The Pittsburgh Pirates are on a roll.
The Pirates have not only won six consecutive games heading into their interleague series that begins Friday afternoon in Seattle, but they are coming off a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in which they didn’t allow a run.
A team that was just 12-26 when Derek Shelton was fired as manager on May 8 has been playing better than .500 ball (26-24) for replacement Don Kelly.
“I feel like this is the team we were rolling out with in spring training,” Pirates shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa said. “This is the original plan. You can kind of see what we were expecting going into the year.”
The Pirates have outscored their opponents 43-4 during their winning streak, and their staff has combined for 31 consecutive scoreless innings.
“Our starters have been fantastic,” Kelly said. “We’ve talked about the run support and how there have been a lot of games where it hasn’t been there. They’ve continued to be the same pitchers. Then you see the last few games where it’s continued to be the same.
“The starting pitching has been the same guys going out there, and it’s been really nice to be able to score some runs for them. If the starters continue to do what they’ve done, the consistency has been unbelievable, and that’s the foundation for us. They’ve done a really good job.”
Whether they can duplicate that success on the road remains to be seen.
The Pirates are just 12-29 away from Pittsburgh as they embark on a nine-game trip that also will take them to Kansas City and Minnesota.
“We’ve got to stay healthy, got to stay together, and we’ve got to back up our pitching. That’s our strength,” Kiner-Falefa said. “It’s nice to be 100 percent right now. I think that’s all that matters. If we can be 100 percent, who knows what can happen?”
While the Pirates were idle on Thursday, the Mariners took a 3-2 defeat against the visiting Kansas City Royals, who managed a split of the four-game series.
Jorge Polanco and Dominic Canzone hit solo homers, but the rest of the Seattle offense provided little support. Julio Rodriguez struck out four times, getting caught looking at a called third strike with runners at second and third in the ninth inning.
The Mariners went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
“I think we all come away frustrated, but that’s why we come back tomorrow ready to go, and that’s what we have to do,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.
Pirates pitchers will have to deal with Mariners All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh, who was selected the American League’s Player of the Month for June after batting .300 with 11 home runs and 27 RBIs. Raleigh leads the majors with 33 homers.
The Pirates hadn’t officially named a starter for the Friday matinee, while the Mariners plan to send right-hander Bryan Woo (7-4, 2.93 ERA) to the mound.
Woo, who has pitched at least six innings in all 16 of his starts this season, is coming off a no-decision at Texas on Saturday. He allowed two runs, both unearned, over six innings in a game the Mariners lost 3-2 in 10 innings. He fanned nine, matching his season best, for the second start in a row.
Woo will face the Pirates for the first time in his career.
–Field Level Media
