Diamondbacks-Pirates preview: Pitching probables, key players

The Arizona Diamondbacks might be relieved while their fans might be slightly disappointed.

The ball club returns home on Friday for a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates that will not include All-Star pitcher and rookie phenom Paul Skenes. The 22-year-old has taken MLB by storm after making a rare jump to the majors just 10 months after getting drafted. He has handled it OK, with a 1.93 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in his first dozen starts. The flame-throwing righty will not make his Chase Field debut just yet.

But this is still a serious matchup for the D-backs and a series that may very well feature the two hottest teams in the National League. Arizona is 28-18 since the start of June and hasn’t dropped a series since late June while the Pirates have won 10 of their last 13 games.

The playoff implications are there as well. There are four teams — the Braves, Cardinals, Mets and Padres — within two games of each other at the top of the NL Wild Card race followed by the D-backs and Pirates.

What to know going into the weekend:

Diamondbacks-Pirates probables

Friday, 6:40 p.m. — RHP Zac Gallen (7-5, 3.64 ERA) vs. RHP Luis Ortiz (5-2, 2.57 ERA)

Saturday, 5:10 p.m. — RHP Brandon Pfaadt (4-6, 3.74 ERA) vs. LHP Marco Gonzales (1-1, 2.70 ERA)

Sunday, 1:10 p.m. — RHP Yilber Diaz (1-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. RHP Mitch Keller (10-5, 3.34 ERA)

Friday’s Pittsburgh arm Luis Ortiz is a name worth spotlighting because you might scan his stats and think he’s an opener. But while he began the year as a reliever, he was stretched out in late June to a starting role. Four of his last five appearances have been starts, and in those, Ortiz has given up only 15 hits, three walks and two earned runs in 24.2 innings for a 0.73 ERA.

Ortiz in his latest outing used a four-pitch mix confidently, tossing his four-seam fastball, sinker, slider and cutter at least 20 times. MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf got feedback from the Philadelphia Phillies after that appearance and heard rave reviews on the cutter in particular.

The Pirates are built heavily on starting pitching and Ortiz isn’t even included in that equation. If he’s the real deal, this team becomes even more dangerous as a potential playoff matchup.

Diamondbacks-Pirates hitters to watch

D-backs: The desired bounce-back effort for the team is from Corbin Carroll, and while that has not come yet, two others have emerged in that light over July. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez has 19 RBI in the month after combining for 14 in the previous two months. He has raised his OPS nearly 100 points from .591 to .673. Catcher Gabriel Moreno was not struggling nearly to Suarez’s depths but he has an OPS of .889 in July and now has 10 doubles since the start of June after amounting to just six previously.

Pirates: A crucial tidbit on Thursday was outfielder Bryan Reynolds going on the bereavement list, which rules him out for Friday and Saturday. OPS+ gives a solid indicator of where a traditional OPS number sits for players compared to the league average, which would be an OPS+ of 100. Reynolds’ 137 OPS+ is one of only four on the Pirates that sits above that average and is easily the best. The other three are designated hitter Andrew McCutchen (104), shortstop Oneil Cruz (112) and first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe (104). McCutchen and Joe are hitting under .210 in July, so the guy to worry about is Cruz. He’s 18-for-60 (.300) in July with six doubles, three homers and 18 RBI.

How to watch Diamondbacks vs. Pirates

All three games are televised on DBACKS.TV through channel 34 on COX, with a radio broadcast on 98.7.

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