The San Diego Padres will take their pathetic 6-9 road record into PNC Park tonight to open a 4-game set against the red hot Pittsburgh Pirates. Southpaw Eric Lauer will get the call for the Friars and he has been awful. Lauer is 1-2, with a bloated ERA of 8.27, a soaring 2.14 WHIP, and in his last turn he allowed 6 runs and 4 homers in just 2-1/3 innings of work. The Pirates are tough at home, with a record of 14-6, and have won 7 of their last 8 games. Tonight they send Chad Kuhl to the hill. Kuhl has pitched well at 4-2, with a slightly elevated ERA of 4.17, and a 1.35 WHIP. The Bucs are 4-1 in his last 5 overall and 5-1 in his last 6 at PNC. It could be a long night for the Padres. They are 2-7 in their last 9 games in Pittsburgh and the Pirates are 4-1 in their last 5 home games against lefties.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PITTSBURGH PIRATES