PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES:….went 3-4 on their homestand against the Braves (2-2) and Reds (1-2)…Split their doubleheader Sunday against the Reds after being rained out Saturday night… Have gone 12-11 in their last 23 games since losing each of their first five games following the All-Star break…Have gone 2-1-3 in their last six series.
HITTING THE ROAD: Tonight the Pirates begin a six-game road trip that gets underway with this three-game series against the Mets…The Pirates will depart New York following Wednesday’s game and conclude the trip with a three-game series against the Twins beginning Friday night.
PIRATES PROSPECTS: Right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester gets the start tonight against the Mets…The 22-year-old Priester is one of six members of the Pirates organization among the game’s top 100 prospects in the latest rankings released by MLB Pipeline…Right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes, who was selected No. 1 overall in this year’s draft, ranks third among MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects…The Pirates and Orioles share the organizational lead with six top 100 prospects apiece.
AND THE WHIFF: Pittsburgh’s pitching staff has recorded double digit strikeouts in three straight and in five of the last six games…The Pirates rank eighth in all of MLB with 258 strikeouts following the All-Star break (the Mariners are first with 289)…The only three National League pitching staffs to have more strikeouts are the Brewers (277), Marlins (265) and Padres (262).
REYNOLDS ROLLING: Bryan Reynolds recorded his fifth career multi-homer game last night after having his 15-game on-base streak come to an end in game one of yesterday’s doubleheader… Since July 26, Reynolds ranks seventh in all of MLB in slugging (.691), tied for second in home runs (seven), tied for third in total bases (47) and ninth in OPS (1.097).
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: 2021 No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis was a four-year letter-winner at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, New York, which is approximately 45 minutes north of Citi Field… Davis entered the 2023 campaign ranked 57th among MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects before making his big league debut on June 19.
HOMETOWN HELLO: Brooklyn native Joshua Palacios graduated from High School of Telecommunication Arts & Technology, where he helped the team go undefeated in 2016 while also capturing the city championship…Palacios also grew up playing for the Sayo Grays in the Parade Grounds League in Brooklyn, which is an infamous league for New York city residents and players…Palacios comes into today second among all National League players with six pinch hits, trailing only Los Angeles’ David Peralta (seven).
COMING THROUGH IN A PINCH: Jared Triolo took Cincinnati’s Alex Young deep with a pinch-hit, three-run home run in game one of yesterday’s doubleheader for the first homer of his big league career…Prior to Triolo, Rodolfo Castro was the last Pirate whose first career home run was a pinch-hit blast, which was accomplished here at Citi Field on July 9, 2021…The Pirates rank second in MLB with 27 pinch hits this season (Oakland is first with 31).
LET’S HEAR IT FOR HAYES: Ke’Bryan Hayes has hit safely in each of his last five starts, going 9-for-21 (.429) with a double, triple, three home runs and 10 RBI…Defensively, Hayes ranks second among all third basemen in MLB this season with 13 Defensive Runs Saved according to the Fielding Bible.
KEEPING UP WITH CUTCH’S MILESTONES: Andrew McCutchen is two RBI shy of tying Dave Parker for ninth on the team’s all-time RBI list…Since making his Major League debut on June 4, 2009, McCutchen leads all National League players with 1,965 games played (Joey Votto is second with 1,860)…McCutchen’s 1,990 games played overall in that time are the second-most in MLB behind Elvis Andrus (2,029).
ANDREW ON THE BASES: Andrew McCutchen enters today with a 17-game on-base streak…That’s the third-longest active on-base streak among all National League players (Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies has the longest active streak at 23 games)…McCutchen has the team’s longest on-base streak of 2023, reaching base safely in 20 straight from June 5 to July 1…McCutchen comes into today seventh in the National League in walks (65).
STARTING PITCHER – 64 – RHP QUINN PRIESTER
QUINN PRIESTER: The 22-year-old righthander will make his sixth big league start after being promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on 7/17…He had a no-decision (4.0ip/4r) in his last Wednesday against the Braves.
VS. NEW YORK (NL): Has never faced the Mets.
NEW YORK METS NOTES:
No team release available.
