Field Level Media
24 May 2022, 18:05 GMT+10
If recent results and the opener of a three-game series are any indication, the Pittsburgh Pirates and visiting Colorado Rockies are evenly matched.
Both have struggled this season.
The Pirates had lost three straight -- including an 18-4 trouncing Sunday while getting swept by the St. Louis Cardinals -- and five of six coming into the series.
The Rockies had lost 10 of 13 before starting a seven-game road trip in Pittsburgh.
Monday's series opener was tight, with the Pirates squeaking out a 2-1 win thanks to an eighth-inning run.
"We manipulated a run -- or manufactured a run, however you want to put it," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "And sometimes when you're not going great offensively, things like that can get you going a little bit. ... To be able to win one where we didn't bang the ball, it was important for us."
Pittsburgh third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes was integral to the victory, going 3-for-3 with an RBI double and a walk. He also scored the winning run in the eighth when he singled, stole second, advanced on a groundout and came home on Yoshi Tsutsugo's infield hit.
Hayes, one of Pittsburgh's cornerstone players, has struggled at times this season. A hotshot on defense, he has seven errors -- more than double his total from last year, when he played 95 games in the field.
He also has gone through lulls on offense, but his batting average is up to .290.
"Just trying to be aggressive early in the count, not swinging at pitches that I don't want to hit and taking my walks whenever they give them, and then whenever they leave something over the plate, making sure that I'm on time to get a swing on it," Hayes told ATT Sportsnet.
Colorado could be without left fielder Kris Bryant again on Tuesday after he was a late scratch on Monday because of back soreness. He spent time on the IL earlier this season because of a back issue.
"It's just OK," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "I think he's still finding his way physically."
In the middle game of the series on Tuesday, Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland (1-4, 4.85 ERA) is expected to face Pittsburgh right-hander Roansy Contreras (1-0, 3.52).
Contreras is expected to be called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday. He made his major league debut with one start last season, and earlier this season he made three relief appearances, striking out 10 in 7 2/3 innings.
During his time at Triple-A in 2022, Contreras produced a 2.66 ERA in five starts.
He has never faced Colorado.
Freeland is coming off a solid outing in a no-decision. He gave up three runs and seven hits with two walks and a season-best eight strikeouts in six innings Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about that start was a newfound aggressiveness.
"I felt like I did a good job of brushing hitters off the plate, using my fastball effectively inside and not letting them be comfortable over the plate," Freeland said. "I let them know that I'm not afraid to come inside, and if I hit you, I hit you."
Black strongly approved, even as Freeland had to work out of some jams.
"He was able to limit the damage," Black said. "He made a lot of big pitches and he worked hard. I thought he pitched outstanding."
Against Pittsburgh, Freeland is 3-2 with a 3.98 ERA in six career starts.
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Sacramento Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sacramento Sun.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks moved higher Thursday as investors and traders took a break from their recent ...
LISBON, Portugal: Carsten Spohr, Chief Executive of Lufthansa, has said that as Portugal's government is still debating whether to sell ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were divided on Wednesday, with the technology and industrial sectors parting ways.Tech stocks ...
HOLLYWOOD, California: More than tripling the debut of its 2018 animated original predecessor, Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" opened ...
PARIS, France: European plane manufacturer Airbus is reported to be close to a record agreement to sell 500 narrow-body jets ...
TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan: DuPont, Chemours and Corteva have reached an agreement to pay $1.18 billion to resolve complaints of causing ...
PORTLAND, Oregon: A federal trial has begun in Portland, Oregon examining the constitutionality of a stringent gun control law approved ...
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and members of the city's historical commission have been sued by a group which ...
LANSING, Michigan: Michigan's Department of Natural Resources said by a wildfire in the state has burned through more than 3 ...
ISTANBUL, Turkey: In an interview with Reuters, Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association, (IATA), said airlines are ...
SACRAMENTO, California: Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia, who had entered the United States through Texas, were transported to California ...
GRAND ISLE STATE PARK, Louisiana: Almost two years after Hurricane Ida struck the barrier island and destroyed most of its ...