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Pirates, Yankees open 3-game set Friday
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 5/16/2014  at  7:14:00 AM
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PITTSBURGH PIRATES (17-23)

at NEW YORK YANKEES (21-19)

First pitch: Friday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: New York -130, Pittsburgh +120, Total: 8.5

An interleague battle begins Friday night when the Pirates head to the Bronx to begin a three-game set against the Yankees.

After making the playoffs last season, Pittsburgh has had a disappointing start to the 2014 campaign, but has won five of its past eight contests. Their last series against the Brewers did not go well though, losing two of the three games including a 4-3 defeat on Thursday afternoon. The Pirates had a 3-2 lead going into the ninth inning, but Mark Melancon could not close it, as he failed to record an out. OF Jose Tabata (.267 BA) was 2-for-4 in the game and finally provided the team with some production out of right field, going 5-for-12 over the three-game series. The Yankees really struggled at home in their two games against the Mets, allowing 21 runs over two starts, but pulled things together in the two games at Citi Field. Their pitching was dominant in two wins there, giving up just seven hits and no runs in wins of 4-0 and 1-0. 2B Yangervis Solarte (.325 BA) went 0-for-4 in Thursday’s victory but was 6-for-11 with two homers and 3 RBI in the previous three games, and is leading the team in batting average. Toeing the rubber for the Pirates on Friday will be RHP Edinson Volquez (1-3, 4.36 ERA) as he goes for his first win since April 17. He will be up against RHP David Phelps (0-0, 4.09 ERA) for the Yankees in his third start of the year, as the team copes with a wealth of injuries to their starters. Pittsburgh has been absolutely atrocious on the road this year, going 5-12, while New York is a mediocre 9-10 in front of its home fans. These two clubs have not gone up against each other since 2008, when the Pirates took 2-of-3 games at home. Pittsburgh has been an impressive 52-44 (.542) as an underdog of +100 or higher since the start of last season, but is only 304-536 (.362) on the road when the total is 8.5 to 10 since 1997. OF Carlos Beltran (elbow) was placed on the DL on Thursday with a bone spur and will not be with the Yankees for a few weeks.

Edinson Volquez was looking to have a big comeback season with the Pirates after allowing just six runs in his first five outings (28 IP), but has since given up 15 runs over the past three starts (15.1 IP). The home-run ball has gotten to him over his recent games, giving up four taters in his past three outings and then allowed a season-high four walks against the Cardinals on Saturday. One worry for him is his strikeout rate, as he is mowing down just 5.2 batters per nine innings compared to his career rate of 8.3 K/9. Volquez has not faced the Yanks since 2008, when he went seven innings and gave up two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out five in a winning effort. C Brian McCann has gone 3-for-9 with a home run, 2 RBI and two walks in his career against Volquez, while OF Ichiro Suzuki (5-for-16, 1 RBI) has also done well. 1B Mark Teixeira has been hitting with some great power lately, but is just 0-for-4 with three strikeouts against the righty. The Pirates’ bullpen as a whole has been great with a 13-6 record and 2.84 ERA and 1.32 WHIP, but has saved just 9-of-18 chances (50%). Mark Melancon (2.37 ERA, 5 saves) has taken over the closer role with Jason Grilli on the DL, and he has gone 5-for-7 in his save opportunities while not allowing a home run in 19 innings on the mound.

David Phelps has provided the Yankees with much needed pitching depth over the past three seasons, pitching in 66 games, 25 as a starter and 41 in relief. He has gotten the start in each of his past two outings as the team has lost in each game, and he has allowed five runs in 10.1 frames. Phelps has struggled mightily with control (4.5 BB/9), and has allowed three home runs in just 22 innings. Phelps has yet to go up against the Pirates in his career, and needs to tread lightly when facing OF Andrew McCutchen, who leads the team with a .306 average and 16 extra-base hits. 3B Pedro Alvarez has continued with his power, knocking eight homers with 24 RBI, and has struck out a career-low 20.8% so far this season, but is batting a horrible .215. New York has had some issues with its bullpen this year and it has gone 5-7 with a 4.22 ERA and 1.36 WHIP while being 13-for-18 (72%) in their save chances. David Robertson (1.74 ERA, 7 saves) has been perfect in his save opportunities, but has allowed two runs over his past four frames while having a 12:2 K/BB ratio in 10.1 innings this year.


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