Orioles at Pirates
A pair of teams with nothing to play for will square off when the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night in the opener of a two-game interleague set. Pittsburgh has been relegated to the role of spoiler for weeks while Baltimore's flickering hopes for a postseason berth were officially snuffed out Saturday night.
The Pirates stalled division rival St. Louis' bid for a playoff slot by taking two of the final three over the weekend. Left fielder Starling Marte hit a tiebreaking homer Sunday for his second straight two-RBI game as he seeks a strong close to a season that was interrupted by an 80-game suspension for taking a performance-enhancing drug. The Orioles had the look of a contender after a seven-game winning streak toward the end of August, but Sunday's win versus Tampa Bay was only their fourth in 18 games. Pitching has been a culprit in the late-season tailspin by Baltimore, which has surrendered at least eight runs in seven of its last eight losses.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Baltimore), AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Kevin Gausman (11-10, 4.61 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Trevor Williams (6-9, 4.18)
Gausman has been sensational in his last two starts, although he had to settle for a no-decison against Boston last week despite limiting the Red Sox to three hits over eight scoreless innings. He won at Toronto in his previous turn, pitching seven strong innings of one-run ball. Gausman did not factor in the decision versus Pittsburgh on June 6, giving up four runs over 6 2/3 innings.
Williams has won only once over his last five starts despite a 2.12 ERA in that span, absorbing a hard-luck defeat last time out after holding Milwaukee to one run on three hits over five innings. That is the only run the 25-year-old has yielded in his last three starts at PNC Park, a span of 20 innings. Williams has kept the ball in the park over the last five turns, allowing one homer.
WALK-OFFS
1. Marte is riding a six-game hitting streak, with multiple hits in half of those contests.
2. Baltimore 2B Jonathan Schoop was 5-for-9 over his last two games and 4-for-8 against the Pirates in June.
3. The Orioles swept a two-game set in June to improve to 12-6 in interleague play against Pittsburgh.