The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to snap their 10-game losing streak when they return home tonight to host the Seattle Mariners in game 1 of their 3-game set. If the Pirates are going to crawl out of their abyss it will be tonight because the rookie sensation, Paul Skenes, will be tapping the rubber for the Bucs. The NL Cy Young candidate is 6-2 with a 2.22 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.96. The Mariners cannot score, averaging under 4 runs per game, and were just swept by the Detroit Tigers where they mustered only 4 runs over their 3-game set. That doesn’t bode well for Seattle when you have a flamethrower like Skenes on the hill. The Mariners are expected to give the nod to Logan Gilbert. He is 7-8 with a 2.91 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.87, but over his last 3 turns Gilbert is 1-2 with a 4.60 ERA. Pittsburgh is not throwing in the towel just yet. The Bucs still have a shot at the last Wild Card spot, sitting 7½ games back, but time is of the essence and they know it. Pittsburgh gets back on track tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PITTSBURGH PIRATES