Pirates at Phillies
The Pittsburgh Pirates' goal of reaching .500 before the All-Star break and setting themselves up to make a run at the National League Central title in the second half hit a bit of a snag of late. The Pirates will try to break out of a three-game slide when they visit the major league-worst Philadelphia Phillies on Monday for the first of four contests between the rivals.
The Pirates were 37-42 after taking two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays to begin a homestand last week but fell right back down over the weekend while being swept by the visiting San Francisco Giants. Pittsburgh mustered a total of four runs in 20 innings on Saturday and Sunday and is last in the NL Central with 345 runs on the season. The Phillies are even worse with the bats at a total of 312 runs but pushed across seven of those on Sunday in a win at the New York Mets - their third victory in the last five games. Philadelphia will try to keep the bats going on Monday in support of right-hander Aaron Nola, who opposes Pirates veteran Ivan Nova.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ROOT Pittsburgh, CSN Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Ivan Nova (8-5, 3.08 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Aaron Nola (5-5, 4.13)
Nova failed to complete six innings for the first time this season against Tampa Bay on Wednesday but still managed to earn a win while allowing two runs and seven hits in five frames. The Dominican Republic native surrendered three or fewer earned runs in 13 of his first 16 starts and got by on Wednesday without overpowering stuff while matching a season low with one strikeout. Nova started against Philadelphia on May 20 and struck out three while allowing three runs and nine hits in 7 1/3 innings to pick up a win.
Nola lost five of six starts after returning to the majors on May 21 but turned things around with back-to-back wins in his last two outings. The 24-year-old Louisiana native surrendered a total of three runs and nine hits while striking out 17 in 14 1/3 innings against St. Louis and Seattle. Nola was just as strong at Pittsburgh on May 21 but could not get enough support to reach the win column and suffered a loss despite allowing one run and four hits in seven innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen hit .411 in June and is 1-for-4 in July after sitting out Sunday.
2. Philadelphia rookie LF Nick Williams is 4-for-11 with a pair of runs scored since making his major league debut.
3. Pittsburgh 1B Josh Bell (15) needs one home run to break a tie with Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner for the most by a rookie prior to the All-Star break in franchise history.