Pittsburgh Pirates Vs. San Francisco Giants Game 52 Preview
By Larry Snyder
The Pittsburgh Pirates seek to make two in a row this evening against the defending World Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants. The Bucs have gone 2-1-1 in their last four series played at AT&T Park.
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After last night’s 4-3 victory over the Giants, Clint Hurdle said on the team’s web site, “This was a good start [to June]. One of the greatest places to play, and [against] one of the best teams. They’ve won three World Series in five years. ‘Uncle.'”
The crew of the Jolly Roger have claimed victory in nine of their last 11 contests and have gone 10-4 in their last 14. The Bucs are 6-2 against the National League Western Division so far this season. They are 3-4 against lefthanders and 24-20 against righthanders.
San Francisco is 30-23 and have put up a 6-2 record against teams from the NL Central. The Giants are in second place in the NL West, just 1.5 games behind the first place Los Angeles Dodgers (30-20). The Boys from the City by the Bay have gone 22-20 against righthanders and 8-3 against lefthanders.
When: Tuesday, June 2
First Pitch: 10:15 p.m. ET
Site: AT&T Park
Playing Surface: Tifway 419 Bermuda Grass
Television Coverage: ROOT Sports Network
Radio Coverage: KDKA-FM 93.7 – The Fan
Announcers: Greg Brown, Tim Neverett, Bob Walk, and John Wehner
Live (Pay) Streaming: MLB.TV
Pittsburgh Pirates
Online Highlights: Pirates Video
Sirius XM Satellite Radio: XM Internet 861
Odds: Pirates +1.5 According to the Bovada Online Sportsbook and the Over/Under is at seven.
Weather Forecast: According to the Weather Channel, the forecast is calling for partly cloudy skies with a low of 53. The winds will be out of the west at 10 to 20 mph. The chance of rain is 10%.
Starting Pitchers: San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy is going to send Chris Heston (5-3, 3.82 ERA/1.39 WHIP) to the hill. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound righthander is making his 11th start of the season and his first ever against the Pirates. The 27-year-old Heston, in his last start, Thursday shut out the Braves over seven 1/3 innings of work.
The Bucs will hand the ball to A.J. Burnett (5-1, 1.81 ERA/1.16 WHIP). The 38-year-old will be making his 11th start of the season. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound righthander has been charged with two or fewer earned runs in each of his first nine starts. He is 6-3 with a 2.04 ERA in 10 career starts against San Fran.
6/2 @Pirates lineup vs SF
— MLB Replays (@MLBReplays) June 2, 2015
Harrison 3B
Polanco RF
McCutchen CF
Walker 2B
Marte LF
Alvarez 1B
Cervelli C
Mercer SS
Burnett P
6/2 @SFGiants lineup vs PIT
— MLB Replays (@MLBReplays) June 2, 2015
Aoki LF
Panik 2B
Pence RF
Posey C
Belt 1B
Crawford SS
Pagan CF
Duffy 3B
Heston P
Next Matchup: The Pirates and Giants meet Wednesday afternoon to wrap up their three-game series. There will be a pair of lefthanders on the mound. San Francisco will go with Tim Hudson (3-4, 4.62 ERA/1.30 WHIP) while the Bucs will counter with Francisco Liriano (2-4, 3.47 ERA/1.09 WHIP). The first pitch is set for 3:45 p.m. and it will be on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh.
Beyond The Scoreboard: Coming into Tuesday’s matchup, Mark Melancon has been scored upon only once in his last 17 games out of the bullpen…Pittsburgh is 25-5 when scoring four runs or more…The Pirates are still looking for their first inside-the-park and walkoff home runs this season…Francisco Cervelli’s .377 batting average during the month of May led the National League.
Next: WATCH: Gerrit Cole just as impressive on his 'off' nights