Pirates at Dodgers
The Pittsburgh Pirates look to continue their climb to a spot in the postseason when they visit the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday afternoon for the middle contest of their three-game set. Pittsburgh posted its fifth win in seven games Friday, topping Los Angeles 5-1 in the series opener to pull within one game of Miami for the second wild card in the National League.
Andrew McCutchen, who also added an RBI single, went deep to end his nine-game drought and has now homered in only two of his last 20 contests. The Dodgers fell to 4-3 on their nine-game homestand and squandered an opportunity to grab a share of first place in the NL West, remaining one game behind San Francisco as the Giants lost to Baltimore. Friday's setback was the second straight for Los Angeles, which totaled three runs in the defeats after scoring 26 over its previous three contests. Howie Kendrick is swinging a hot bat for the Dodgers, going 7-for-12 with a homer and four RBIs over his last three games.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FS1, ROOT (Pittsburgh), SportsNet LA (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Gerrit Cole (7-7, 2.94 ERA) vs. Dodgers RH Brandon McCarthy (2-2, 3.00)
Cole was denied a third straight victory Sunday, taking the loss against Cincinnati after yielding four runs on three hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old Californian had given up one earned run in each of his previous three outings, striking out 17 while walking only three in 20 frames. Cole has yet to lose to Los Angeles, going 3-0 with a 4.32 ERA in four career starts.
McCarthy has failed to work more than four innings in any of his last three starts, including a no-decision against Boston on Sunday in which he gave up only two runs but issued five walks over 3 2/3 frames. The 33-year-old, who also hails from the Golden State, has handed out five free passes in back-to-back outings but has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his seven turns this season. McCarthy is 1-2 with a 4.74 ERA in four career games (three starts) against Pittsburgh.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pirates C Francisco Cervelli (wrist) and 1B John Jaso (soreness) were kept out of the starting lineup on Friday, but the latter appeared as a pinch hitter.
2. Los Angeles RF Josh Reddick is hitting .111 (4-for-36) in nine games since being acquired from Oakland at the trade deadline.
3. Pittsburgh C Chris Stewart (knee) began a rehab assignment with Double-A Altoona on Friday.