Phillies and Pirates rekindle cross-state rivalry with weekend series

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Phillies will spend a steaming hot July weekend at PNC Park

The Philadelphia Phillies (50-47) will be spending the next three days at one of the most beautiful ballparks in the game when they visit the Pittsburgh Pirates (45-50) for a weekend series.

The Pirates are struggling, losers in five of their last six and seven of their last 10 games. Though just 6.5 games out in the NL Central Division standings, the Bucs have not been able to rise above fourth place in their division since the start of June. They have not won more than three straight since mid-April.

For their part, the Phillies enter the series coming off a 2-2 split with the best team in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers, but are still struggling mightily themselves to put back together what once appeared to be a winning season.

The Phillies went 3-4 on their just completed home stand in which they faced two tough teams in the Dodgers and division-rival Washington Nationals. They are just 7-9 going back over the last three weeks, since ending a four-game winning streak. While nine games over the .500 mark at home, they have fashioned only a 20-26 record on the road

Head-to-head, the Phillies won six of the seven games between the two clubs a year ago. However, that was the first time since their record-setting 2011 campaign that they had a winning seasonal mark against the Pirates.

Pittsburgh is 17th in MLB in runs per game (4.74), just behind the Phillies (4.84) who rank 15th. The Pirates are 13th among the 15 teams in the National League in home runs, 10th in stolen bases, and 9th in OPS. The Pittsburgh pitching staff is collectively ranked at 13th in the NL in both batting average and OPS against, ninth in strikeouts.

With the hot summer weather fully entrenched here in the eastern United States, and with two struggling pitching staffs, this could end up a high-scoring series. That is especially so if the Phillies do not get improved starting pitching, and if they can get into the Pirates bullpen by the middle innings.

For the Pittsburgh Pirates, No News is Bad News

For the Pittsburgh Pirates and their passionate fan base, the 2016 season was one of extreme disappointment. After three consecutive playoff appearances, the beloved Bucs missed the postseason party.

The Pirates struggled to a record of 78-83 last season, good only for third place in the National League Central Division.

In each of the prior three years, Pittsburgh came in second place, with the team repeatedly falling just short of a division crown. The club finished within two games in 2014 and 2015 after falling three games short in 2013.

In 2016, the Bucs fell 7.5 games short of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals. But that was not their biggest concern heading into the offseason. Pittsburgh also finished a distant 25 games behind the eventual World Series champion Chicago Cubs in the division race.

Would Pirates Actually Deal Andrew McCutchen?

It was a rough season for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016. After three straight playoff seasons, the Bucs fell to 79-83 and third place in the NL Central Division.

A six-game winning streak at the end of April lifted Pittsburgh to 15-9, just three games out of first place. 

They would never be that far over the .500 mark, or that close to the division lead again.

In examining what went wrong this season in the Steel City, you find a number of factors came in to play. The starting pitching rotation suffered through injuries and ineffectiveness. The club got little production out of either the catcher or first base positions.

But another key element in the Pirates’ struggles this past season was a noticeable decline from center fielder Andrew McCutchen.