Pirates at Rockies
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ dramatic climb up the National League Central standings stalled briefly Saturday as the team placed its hottest hitter on the disabled list and saw its six-game winning streak come to an end. Pittsburgh looks to bounce back Sunday in the rubber match of a three-game series against the host Colorado Rockies, who have moved into a virtual tie with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the top NL wild card spot.
Right fielder Gregory Polanco was batting .387 in 17 games this month but will be sidelined for the next few weeks with a strained left hamstring, causing manager Clint Hurdle to platoon John Jaso, Adam Frazier and Jose Ozuna in his absence. Hurdle continues to rave about rookie first baseman Josh Bell, who had four hits and four RBIs on Friday and belted his 18th home run in Saturday’s loss. The importance of this weekend’s series was not lost on Colorado manager Bud Black, who had closer Greg Holland record his first multi-inning save of the season on Saturday. Third baseman Nolan Arenado contributed two hits with an RBI and is batting .432 with seven homers and 20 RBIs over his last 10 games.
TV: 3:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Ivan Nova (10-6, 3.27 ERA) vs. Rockies LH Kyle Freeland (9-7, 3.67)
Nova won his second straight start last Tuesday, allowing three runs on 10 hits over six frames against Milwaukee. The 30-year-old has pitched at least six innings in 18 of his first 19 starts while posting an impressive 73-to-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Charlie Blackmon is 4-for-8 with two home runs against Nova, who faced the Rockies twice as a member of the New York Yankees and went 0-2 with an 8.40 ERA.
Freeland is returning to the rotation after tossing three scoreless innings of relief against the New York Mets last Saturday. The Rockies began actively monitoring the rookie's workload after he threw 8 1/3 innings of no-hit ball against the Chicago White Sox in his last start on July 9. The Denver native struggled in his first start against Pittsburgh on June 12, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings of a 7-2 loss.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Pirates have won 10 of their last 11 games at Coors Field, dating back to July 27, 2014.
2. Colorado OF Gerardo Parra is 20-for-39 with two homers and 12 RBIs in his last 10 games.
3. The Pirates recalled LHP Steven Brault from Triple-A Indianapolis to replace Polanco on the roster.