The Pittsburgh Pirates have yet to sweep a series this season.
They will look to capitalize on an opportunity when they host the slumping Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon in the finale of a three-game set.
Having won three of their past four games, the Pirates send ace right-hander Paul Skenes (4-6, 2.05 ERA) against Phillies left-hander Christopher Sanchez (5-1, 3.15).
Skenes went from enjoying his highest amount of run support this season — on May 28 in a 10-1 road win over the Arizona Diamondbacks — to zero support despite a stellar start in a 3-0 home loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday.
Skenes allowed only one run on three hits and one walk while striking out eight over eight innings, but Pittsburgh’s offense was shut down.
He has recovered his Cy Young-contending form, allowing no more than one earned run in each of his past five starts. Still, the Pirates have struggled to make those performances count, winning only two of those starts.
One of those losses came at Philadelphia on May 18, when Skenes faced the Phillies for the first time and gave up one run on three hits, walked one and struck out nine in an eight-inning complete game.
“I don’t know. I don’t watch the offense a ton in terms of process and sticking within our plan — I’m not the right guy to ask,” Skenes said. “But it just goes back to controlling what we can control. It is what it is.”
Meanwhile, Philadelphia will try to avoid matching a season-high five-game losing streak. The Phillies have dropped eight of their past nine — their worst stretch over nine games this season.
To make things worse, Philadelphia lost eight-time All-Star Bryce Harper for an extended period after placing the two-time National League MVP on the 10-day injured list Saturday with right wrist inflammation.
Harper missed his second consecutive game Saturday after dealing with lingering pain from an injury he first suffered last May and played through to the end of last season. Harper said Saturday he was pain-free from December until early in this season.
But the Phillies are confident this approach will reduce the amount of time Harper needs to recover.
“It’s been long enough to where it’s gotten to the point where I can’t really function on a baseball field or hit a baseball or anything like that,” Harper said before Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Pirates. “So it’s just a good time for me to take some time and get it right.”
Harper missed five games last week while nursing a right elbow contusion he suffered when he was hit by a Spencer Strider fastball on May 27. Harper said Saturday that the wrist discomfort began before the elbow injury.
Phillies prospect Otto Kemp made his major-league debut Saturday with a start at third base, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Alec Bohm started at first in place of Harper.
Sanchez is coming off a strong outing Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays, allowing one run on four hits and four walks while striking out four over six innings in an 8-3 road victory.
Sanchez did not face the Pirates earlier this season during the Phillies’ three-game sweep, but is a career 0-2 with a 1.45 ERA in 18 2/3 innings against them in four appearances (three starts).
–Field Level Media
