The Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants will play the rubber game of their 3-game set in an early one today at PNC Park. The Giants evened the score, cruising to an 8-1 victory last night, and will turn to southpaw Robbie Ray today to wrap up the series. Ray is 9-5 with an ERA of just 2.85 and a 1.12 WHIP. In his last turn against the Mets he was delivering, allowing only 1 run and 4 hits over 7 innings of work, and the Giants went on to a 4-3 victory. Ray will be opposed by another lefty, Andrew Heaney. Heaney, who is 5-9 with a 4.89 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP, was shaky in his last start against the worst team in baseball, the Colorado Rockies, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits over just 3-1/3 innings and the Rockies went on to a 17-16 win. At 57-57, the Giants still have a wild card shot but they have to beat teams like the 49-65 Bucs if they want to get in, and they know it. Ray should keep the Pirates’ bats in check, who are dead last in the league in scoring.
TODAY’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS