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Series Preview: Atlanta Braves take on the Pittsburgh Pirates

By Matthew Browning

PITTSBURGH, PA - JUNE 02: Starling Marte #6 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates with Melky Cabrera #53 after coming around to score in the fourth inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on June 2, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - JUNE 02: Starling Marte #6 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates with Melky Cabrera #53 after coming around to score in the fourth inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on June 2, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JUNE 01: Centerfielder Ronald Acuna, Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates with first base coach Eric Young, Sr. #2 after hitting an RBI single in the fifth inning during the game against the Detroit Tigers at SunTrust Park on June 01, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JUNE 01: Centerfielder Ronald Acuna, Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates with first base coach Eric Young, Sr. #2 after hitting an RBI single in the fifth inning during the game against the Detroit Tigers at SunTrust Park on June 01, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

The Atlanta Braves went 2-3 on their just completed homestand and now head to Pittsburgh for three games against the Pirates beginning Tuesday.

It was not exactly how fans envisioned their most recent homestand going, as the Atlanta Braves dropped both games to the Washington Nationals before taking two of three from the Detroit Tigers.

Even with the last week’s results not being great, the Braves still sit just one game behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East and are tied for the Wild Card.

Up next is a trip to PNC Park in Pittsburgh for a three-game series against the struggling Pirates.

Over their past 14 games, Pittsburgh is 4-10 and have allowed 7.5 runs per game and given double-digit runs five times.

For the season, the Pirates are ranked 26th in all of baseball in team ERA (4.95) and 21st in batting average against (.256).

They have also made the 11th most errors.

The offensive numbers are not much better, as Pittsburgh is 23rd in runs, 24th in slugging and 27th in home runs.

While their record is 28-30, their numbers more support their poor run differential, which is -68.

Bottom line: this team is not very good and a case can certainly be made that the Pirates are the worst team in the NL Central.

The Braves went 5-1 against Pittsburgh last season, including a three-game sweep at PNC Park in August.

In 2017, the Braves went 2-5 against the Pirates and 3-4 in 2016.

This Pittsburgh team could look drastically different come August, when some of their valuable trade pieces could be dealt.

It is likely that the names Starling Marte, Felipe Vazquez and others will be talked about up to the July 31st deadline.

It is also likely that there will be a lot of runs scored in this series as the pitching probables for both teams are not great.

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