One of the weird little things to adjust to as a fan of the Pirates both in their ill-fated playoff run last year and this year’s hot streak is that when you’re used to watching a bad team, you have no idea how often good teams win baseball games. The Pirates have been spitting hot since May 25th; they’ve got the best record in the National League in that span (21-12) and they’ve got the NL’s second best run differential in the same stretch. They’re playing better baseball right now than they have any point since 1992, probably. All of that, and they’ve only made up three games on the Reds over that 33 game span.
That makes series like this one against the Astros important. The Pirates went on a tough road trip to Philadelphia and St. Louis last week and played some bad baseball, but escaped with a 4-3 record due mostly to just bludgeoning the Phillies’ and Cardinals’ starters in a way that would make the Lumber Company proud. That really only means anything if the Pirates can get out there and take three or four from the Astros now. McDonald pitches tonight, Burnett pitches tomorrow, and the Pirates have an opportunity to keep on putting wins up in the win column. Winning a division isn’t about getting hot for a few weeks or a month; it’s a long haul that requires you to take advantage of every single opportunity that comes your way.
Tonight’s first pitch is at 7:05. J-Mac looks to make a late case to replace someone on the All-Star team. Jordan Lyles goes for the ‘Stros.
