Pirates at Padres
Injured right fielder Gregory Polanco can’t return soon enough for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have lost four straight and six of their last seven to fall 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central. The Pirates look to avoid a three-game series sweep on Sunday at the hands of the host San Diego Padres, who have won four in a row and secured their first winning month since July 2015.
The Pirates’ offense has gone quiet without Polanco, who landed on the disabled list on July 22 with a strained left hamstring and resumed baseball activities on Friday but has yet to run the bases. Pittsburgh has used four players in place of Polanco in right field - John Jaso, Jose Osuna, Jordan Luplow and Adam Frazier, who had two of his team’s five hits in Saturday’s 4-2 loss. The rebuilding Padres could move several players before Monday’s non-waiver trade deadline but appear to have a solid core of youngsters around which to build - including Manuel Margot, who is 12-for-24 with three home runs and six RBIs over his last six games. “There’s a lot more in there,” manager Andy Green told reporters. “There’s a lot of good stuff that’s already happened, but I’m equally excited about his future.”
TV: 4:40 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, FSN San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Gerrit Cole (8-7, 4.12 ERA) vs. Padres LH Clayton Richard (5-11, 5.37)
Cole threw a season-high 115 pitches but recorded the victory against San Francisco on Monday, allowing two runs over six innings in his fourth consecutive quality start. The Southern Californian has gone 5-1 with a 3.04 ERA over his last eight overall outings and is 5-0 with a 3.90 ERA in his last five turns on the road. Cole tossed six scoreless innings in his lone start against San Diego last season and owns a 3-1 record and 1.52 ERA in four career outings versus the Padres.
Richard lost his third straight start Monday against the New York Mets after giving up five runs and 12 hits while throwing 123 pitches over eight innings. The 33-year-old has allowed a total of 20 runs - 19 earned - and 37 hits in 17 1/3 frames over his last three turns. Richard is 2-1 with a 2.01 ERA in eight career games (three starts) against Pittsburgh.
WALK-OFFS
1. Padres 1B Wil Myers is expected to receive a second straight day of rest on Sunday.
2. Pirates OF Andrew McCutchen is one home run shy of hitting 20 or more in seven consecutive seasons.
3. San Diego INF Yangervis Solarte (oblique) and C Austin Hedges (concussion) will be activated from the disabled list for Sunday’s series finale.