CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
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PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES:. Lost 10-1 in the second game of their three-game series last night against the Guardians…Have lost each of their first five games following the All-Star break…Have had five separate winning streaks of at least four games this season, including a season-high seven-game winning streak from 4/17-23.
ABOUT TODAY’S STARTER: Rich Hill gets the start in the finale of this six-game homestand and three-game series…Hill had a no-decision (6.0ip/3er) in his last start Friday night against the Giants in the team’s first game back from the All-Star break…He is also 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA (19.2ip/5er) in his last four starts vs. Cleveland dating back to August 25, 2020.
THROWN FOR A CURVE: Rich Hill has used his curveball in his arsenal 37.2 percent of the time this season…The only three pitchers in MLB to throw that pitch at a higher percentage this year are Drew Smyly (47.9%), Charlie Morton (45.0%) and Domingo German (41.0%).
FAST TIMES AT PNC PARK: Last night’s game time of 2 hours and 15 minutes was the sixth-fastest at PNC Park this season….The fastest game at home came on May 8 against the Rockies, lasting a total of just 1 hour and 55 minutes… Pittsburgh’s average home game time for the team’s 47 nine inning games this year has been 2 hours and 37 minutes… Last year Pittsburgh’s 72 nine-inning home games lasted an average of 3 hours and 4 minutes.
GO WEST YOUNG BUCS: Following today’s game the Pirates will depart for a six-game road trip to California…The trip begins with a three-game series against the Angels before concluding with three games with the Padres starting Monday night…It will be Pittsburgh’s first trip to Anaheim since August 12-14, 2019.
PROVIDING RELIEF: Tuesday night Carmen Mlodzinski needed a total of just seven pitches to work a 1-2-3 eighth inning… Since June 25, Mlodzinski has recorded a 1.29 ERA (7.0ip/1er) and .200 batting average against (5-for-25) in his seven appearances out of the bullpen.
THE ARMS RACE: The Pirates signed 2023 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes on Tuesday along with sixth rounder Hunter Furtado, seventh rounder Jaden Woods and 14th round selection Garret McMillan…The 21-year-old Skenes was rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 1 prospect in this year’s draft while also being tabbed by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect…Skenes is currently rated by Baseball America as the No. 1 pitcher among the outlet’s top 100 prospects (sixth overall)…Coming into today, the Pirates have now signed 11 of their 21 selections from this year’s draft.
THE HOT CORNER: Jared Triolo has hit safely in 11 straight and 12 of his last 13 games (14-for-47, .298)…Triolo’s 11-game hitting streak is tied for the longest by a Pirate this season along with Bryan Reynolds…The last Pirate to have a longer single-season hitting streak of more than 11 games was Bryan Reynolds, hitting safely in 14 straight from June 14-30, 2021.
SHOW TIME: Monday night Quinn Priester and Endy Rodríguez became the ninth and 10th players to make their big league debuts for the Pirates this season…The Pirates had a total of 14 players make their Major League debut in 2022…That was tied for the fourth-most in all of MLB along with the Tigers..The team used a club-record 26 rookies in 2021…Special thanks to the Elias Sports Bureau.
CARLOS SANTANA’S HITS: Carlos Santana hit 216 home runs during his career playing for Cleveland, which ranks fifth in the club’s all-time history…Santana also ranks second in club history with 881 walks (Jim Thome is the all-time leader with 1008 free passes).
GETTING ON: Since making his big league debut on June 19, Henry Davis ranks third among all National League rookies with a .373 on-base percentage…Teammate Jared Triolo ranks fifth in that time among NL rookies with a .359 OBP…The only two National League rookies with a higher OBP in the last month are Miami’s Dane Myers (.415) and St. Louis’ Alec Burleson (.375).
STARTING PITCHER – 44 – LHP RICH HILL
RICH HILL: The 43-year-old lefthander is making his 20th start of the season today…He had a no-decision (6.0ip/3r) in his last start Friday against the Giants.
vs. CLEVELAND: 2-1 with a 3.81 ERA (28.1ip/12er) in 12 career appearances (five starts)…Won his last decision (6.0ip/1r) against the Guardians on 6/26/22 at Cleveland…Is also 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA (19.2ip/5er) in his last four starts against the Guardians.
