PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES:..Went 6-1 on their homestand against the Reds (4-0) and Dodgers (2-1)…Won seven straight games from 4/17-23, their longest winning streak since 2018 (11 games)…Have not lost back-to-back games since dropping the final two contests of their season-opening series in Cincinnati…Their 18-8 record is their best start since the 1992 team had a 19-7 record after the first 26 games.
THE FEEL-GOOD STORY OF BASEBALL: The Pirates come into today with the best record in the National League (18-8) and second-best in all of MLB behind the Tampa Bay Rays (21-5)…Pittsburgh is off to its best start since the 1992 team went 19-7 to begin the season…The Pirates are also 10 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2015 season when the team had the second-best record (98-64) in all of Major League Baseball.
MONTHLY REPORT: The Pirates have won 18 games before the beginning of May for the first time in team history…Prior to this year, the last time the Pirates won at least 18 games in one month came in August of 2015 (19-8).
TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE HAVING FUN: Thursday’s game time of 2 hours and 8 minutes was the shortest of the year for the Pirates, besting the previous time of 2 hours and 9 minutes on April 20 against the Reds…It’s the first time in a season the Pirates have played two nine-inning games in 2 hours and 9 minutes or less since 2010 (2:08 on April 14 at San Francisco and 2:06 on April 23 at Houston).
COMING THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH: Pittsburgh is hitting .303 (66-for-218) with runners in scoring position, which ranks fifth in all of MLB…On the flip side, Pittsburgh’s pitching staff has limited opponents to a .221 batting average against (51- for-231) with runners in scoring position, which is the third-lowest in all MLB behind the Yankees (.196) and Rays (.201).
CLEARING THE DECK: Pittsburgh has hit 30 home runs this season, which are the third-most in team history for March/ April…The only other times the Pirates hit more home runs prior to May came in 1996 (33) and 2006 (32)…Pittsburgh has won eight of its last nine games when going deep at least once in a game.
HITTING THE ROAD: Tonight the Pirates begin a six-game road trip with this three-game series at Nationals Park…The trip will also take them to Tampa Bay for a three-game series that gets underway Tuesday night…Pittsburgh is tied with Milwaukee for the fourth-best road record (9-4) in all of MLB…The only three teams with a better road record this year are the Braves (10-2), Cubs (6-2) and Rays (7-3)…Pittsburgh has won three straight and eight of its last 10 road games.
IN THE BEGINNING: Pittsburgh erased an early 2-0 deficit on Thursday after scoring three times in the first inning against the Dodgers…The Bucs have scored 23 runs in the first inning this season, which are tied for the third-most in MLB along with the Dodgers…The only two teams with more first inning runs are the Rays (29) and Angels (24)…Pittsburgh’s .333 batting average in the first inning ranks third in MLB behind the Braves (.357) and Rays (.348).
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: Bryan Reynolds hit three home runs and recorded six RBI in his last game at Nationals Park on June 29, 2022…Reynolds is also hitting .373 (19-for-51) in his last 14 games overall vs. Washington…Andrew McCutchen is 9-for-21 with two doubles, two homers and nine RBI in his last five games at Nationals Park.
WINNING STARTS HERE: Pittsburgh’s starting rotation comes into today with the fourth-lowest ERA (3.72) among all National League teams…Since April 11, Pittsburgh’s starting rotation has produced a Major-League best 2.32 ERA (97.0ip/25er) while holding opposing hitters to a .214 batting average against…Pittsburgh’s starting rotation comes into today tied for the fourth-most strikeouts (242) in MLB, trailing only the Twins (163), Rays (147) and Astros (146)…The starting staff has also worked the second-most innings (145.1) in MLB behind the Padres (145.2).
PIRATING: The Pirates lead all of MLB with 37 stolen bases coming into today (the Guardians rank second with 31)…Pittsburgh hasn’t led all of MLB in stolen bases since swiping 260 bags in 1977…The Pirates recorded 12 stolen bases as a team during their three-game series against the Dodgers, which was tied for their third-most in a three-game series in the modern era (since 1901) and their most since also swiping 12 bags from August 19-21, 1977 vs. San Francisco.
REYNOLDS ON A ROLL: Bryan Reynolds recorded his 20th RBI of the season Thursday and enters today tied for seventh in the National League in that department…Reynolds’ 20 RBI are tied for the seventh-most in March/April in Pirates history.
44 – LHP RICH HILL
RICH HILL: The 43-year-old lefthander is making his sixth start this evening…Won a 2-1 decision (5.0ip/1er) in his last start Saturday night against the Reds.
vs. WASHINGTON: 2-4 with a 4.07 ERA (48.2ip/22er) in 11 career appearances (nine starts)…Hasn’t faced Washington since doing so here at Nationals Park on 9/3/21 when he worked 6.0 scoreless innings but had a no-decision in a 6-2, 10-inning win by the Mets.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:
No release available.
