CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
No release available.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES:…Have won three straight games since dropping each of the last two contests of their season-opening series against the Reds at Great American Ball Park…Opened their 137th season as a member of the National League with a 5-4 win against the Reds.
WELCOME HOME CUTCH: Today will be Andrew McCutchen’s first game as a Pirate at PNC Park since September 27, 2017…McCutchen is the all-time leader in home runs (93) in the ballpark’s history…His next home run at PNC Park will be his first since September 26, 2017, against the Orioles when he went deep twice while recording a career-high eight RBI.
BACK IN THE 412: Today the Pirates return to Pittsburgh after going 4-2 on their season-opening six-game road trip to Cincinnati (1-2) and Boston (3-0)…It’s Pittsburgh’s best start to the season after six games since going 5-1 to begin the 2018 season.
BATMAN RETURNS: A.J. Burnett will throw out the ceremonial first pitch during today’s pre-game festivities to former batterymate Russell Martin…Burnett was a member of Pittsburgh’s playoff teams in both 2013 and 2015 while going 35-28 with a 3.34 ERA in 87 starts as a Pirate from 2012-13 and 2015…Martin hit one of the most memorable home runs in Pirates history, taking Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto deep in the 2013 Wild Card Game that helped lift the Pirates to a win and advance to the Division Series.
CRUZ IN CONTROL: Oneil Cruz enters today with a career-best 16-game on-base streak dating back to September 23 of last year…Since his season debut last year on June 20, Cruz is tied for the second-most home runs (18) in all of MLB among shortstops, trailing only Texas’ Marcus Semien (21).
SOCKING IT TO CHICAGO: Andrew McCutchen has hit safely in seven career games against the White Sox, going 13-for27 (.481)…Carlos Santana’s 22 home runs against the White Sox are tied for the fifth-most among actve players (Miguel Cabrera leads with 40)…The Bucs are 6-2 against the White Sox here at PNC Park since the beginning of 2015.
THE OPENING ACT AT PNC: Today is the third time that the Pirates will face an American League team in a home opener after also doing so in 2015 against Detroit and in 2018 against the Twins…Pittsburgh is 9-12 all-time in its home openers at PNC Park…The Bucs have lost each of their last four home openers since winning five straight from 2014-18.
A CALL TO ARMS: Pittsburgh’s pitching staff enters today with the fourth-lowest ERA (3.46) among all National League teams (ninth-lowest in all of MLB)…The only three National League staffs with a lower ERA coming into today are the Dodgers (2.14), Brewers (2.72) and Braves (2.90).
RICH ON THE HILL: Lefthander Rich Hill will make his second start as a Pirate in today’s game…Hill has made five career starts here at PNC Park…Today will be his first outing along the banks of the Allegheny River since winning an 8-3 decision against Roansy Contreras last year on August 17…Prior to last year, Hill’s previous start came at PNC came on August 23, 2017, while pitching for the Dodgers when he lost a no-hitter in the 10th inning on a Josh Harrison walkoff home run.
BULLISH PEN: Pittsburgh’s bullpen has recorded a 1.77 ERA (20.1ip/4er) and .203 batting average against in the first six games of the season…Pirates relievers have also allowed just one of eight inherited runners to score…The bullpen’s 1.77 ERA is the fourth-lowest in all of Major League Baseball coming into today, trailing only the Rangers (0.73), Brewers (1.33) and Rays (1.64).
THE RENEGADE: David Bednar recorded his third save in the team’s fifth game of the season Tuesday night…Prior to Bednar, the last Pirate to record three saves within the team’s first five games of a season was Joel Hanrahan in 2011.
RED-HOT REYNOLDS: Bryan Reynolds enters today ranked first in all of Major League Baseball in home runs (four), third in slugging (1.000), fourth in OPS (1.444) and second in total bases (24)..Today will also be Reynolds’ 500th big league game…Since making his Major League debut on April 20, 2019, Reynolds ranks third among all switch hitters in MLB in slugging (.488), OPS (.850) and total bases (879), and seventh in RBI (246) and home runs (78).
PIRATING: The Pirates are 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts this season…The only other team with at least seven stolen bases and no caught stealings are the White Sox (7-for-7).
CASHING IN AT PNC: Last season Jack Suwinski hit 16 of his 19 home runs here at PNC Park…Suwinski finished tied for the third-most home runs in a single season in PNC Park history (Brian Giles holds the record with 18 in 2001)…His 16 home runs at home were also the most in a single season in Pirates history for a rookie; the previous record was 15 held by Jason Bay in 2004 and Al Martin in 1993.
44 – LHP RICH HILL
RICH HILL: The 43-year-old lefthander is making his second start of the season this afternoon…Lost a 6-2 decision (5.0ip/3er) in his Pirates debut on 4/1 at Cincinnati.
vs. CHICAGO (AL): 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA (28.0ip/18er) in 19 career appearances (five starts)…Lost his only outing last year against the White Sox on 5/25…The White Sox are one of four teams in his career that he has yet to beat along with Minnesota, the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers.
