Astros Vs. Pirates: A.J. Burnett Looks To Continue Home Success

The Pittsburgh Pirates (15-18) look to duplicate Sunday what for them was an offensive outburst on Saturday night, when the Pirates tallied five runs in a 5-2 win over the Houston Astros. Pittsburgh has only scored five runs at PNC Park five times this year, never exceeding that total. The Pirates have scored one or no runs seven times at PNC.

A.J. Burnett (1-2, 6.08) will be on the mound for Pittsburgh on Sunday. Burnett is 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA in two starts at home, and in seven career starts against Houston is 2-5 with a 5.31 ERA.

Wandy Rodriguez (3-3, 2.14 ERA) will oppose Burnett. In his last seven starts against Pittsburgh, Rodriguez is 5-1 with a 2.94 ERA, striking out over 11 batters per nine innings.

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Pirates Vs. Astros: Pittsburgh Finishes With Seven Hits In 5-2 Win Over Houston

Twenty-four hours earlier, the Pittsburgh Pirates were held to four hits in a 1-0 loss to the Houston Astros. One day later, the Pirates (15-18) nearly doubled that total, finishing with seven hits in a 5-2 victory over Houston (15-18) at PNC Park.

Center fielder Andrew McCutchen was responsible for his fair share of those, finishing 4 for 4 at the plate, including a home run in the third inning. The Pirates' were methodical -- to a large degree -- at the plate, scoring their five runs over the course of four innings, including the sixth when they scored two following a sacrifice fly from Clint Barmes and a wild pitch that brought in Casey McGehee.

Starting for Pittsburgh on Saturday was Charlie Morton, who lasted six full innings and gave up just one earned run, to improve to 2-3 on the season.

The rubber-match finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1:35 p.m. EST. A.J. Burnett will take the hill for Pittsburgh.

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Pirates Vs. Astros: Home Runs Gives Pittsburgh 3-1 Advantage After Five Innings

One night after being held scoreless while dropping the series opener 1-0, the Pittsburgh Pirates have come out in the second game of the weekend series to put two runs on the scoreboard and take a 3-1 lead over the Houston Astros after five innings at PNC Park.

In the first inning, Neil Walker's sacrifice fly scored left fielder Jose Tabata, while Andrew McCutchen drilled a home run to deep center field, giving the Pirates a 2-0 lead. Tabata would later home run in the bottom of the fifth inning following a blast to right field.

Pittsburgh starter Charlie Morton has given up five hits and has yet to strike out a batter, but he has allowed just one run.

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Astros Vs. Pirates: Pittsburgh Looks To Snap Two-Game Skid On Saturday Night

The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to snap a two-game losing streak when they host the Houston Astros on Saturday evening at PNC Park. Pittsburgh's 1-0 loss to Houston on Friday night dropped the Pirates to 3-4 on their current nine-game homestand.

Charlie Morton (1-3, 4.61) will take the mound for the Pirates, hoping to shake off some disastrous starts to begin the month of May. Morton has given up 11 runs, nine earned, in 10 1/3 innings over his last two starts. Morton was 2-2 with a 4.63 ERA last season against Houston.

The Astros will counter with J.A. Happ (2-2, 5.24 ERA) on the bump. Happ is winless in four career starts in Pittsburgh, despite a 3.24 ERA. The Pirates Andrew McCutchen has been a Happ killer in his career, batting .364 with three doubles and a home run off the lefty.

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Astros Vs. Pirates Recap: Pittsburgh Offense Woeful Again In 1-0 Loss To Houston

For the second straight night, the Pittsburgh lineup was nowhere to be found as the Houston Astros took Game 1 of a weekend series at PNC Park. Houston finished off the 1-0 shutout victory that did not feature an RBI. The Astros would get the game's only run in the top of the second, when outfielder Justin Maxwell grounded into a double play with Brian Bogusevic standing on third.

Houston starter Bud Norris went six innings, allowing just three hits and no runs. Norris is one of the better strikeout pitchers in the NL this yea, and he fanned eight Pirates in his six innings of work. Norris added to a particularly brutal stretch for the Bucs' lineup, coming on the heels of Stephen Strasburg's 13 strikeout game against the Pirates. As a team, the Bucs finished with 11 Ks and did not walk a single time against Norris and three Houston relievers.

The offense had a couple chances to put a run on the board but quickly squandered the opportunities to keep the shutout alive. Pittsburgh loaded the bases in the sixth inning but failed to get a run across after two strikeouts and a pop out from the top of the order. Rod Barajas started the eighth with a single, but pinch runner Josh Harrison was promptly picked off first to end any hopes of a late threat.

The bright spot for the Bucs was once again on the mound, as James McDonald went eight innings and struck out eight. McDonald has been red hot this season, striking out at least seven in the last four starts. But McDonald was the hard-luck loser to fall to 2-2.

Game 2 will be Saturday night with Charlie Morton scheduled to go against J.A. Happ.

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Pirates Lineup Vs. Astros: Alex Presley Sits Again

Here’s the Pirates’ lineup for Friday night’s contest against Bud Norris and the Houston Astros.

Jose Tabata RF
Nate McLouth LF
Andrew McCutchen CF
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Neil Walker 2B
Garrett Jones 1B
Rod Barajas C
Clint Barmes SS
James McDonald P

Alex Presley sits again. Presley has played less and less recently, as the Bucs wait for him to start hitting. He hasn’t been the worst offender — Barmes and Barajas have been far worse, and they both still have starting jobs. And McLouth has hit even worse than Presley. Still, it’s hard to say that Presley has been missed much.

McCutchen, meanwhile, is on a tear — he’s 7-for-12 in his last four games, with two home runs in that span. He’s currently batting .330/.397/.466 on the season. Pirates starter James McDonald has 27 strikeouts in his last three outings.

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Astros Vs. Pirates: Rebuilding Astros Not The Pushover You Might Think

The Astros' roster may not look particularly intimidating, but it might be better than you think.