The Pirates crushed the Minnesota Twins 7-2 Tuesday night, and will hope to continue their winning ways against a weak Twins team on Wednesday (7:05).
The pitching matchup initially looks favorable to the Pirates, but maybe a bit less so upon closer inspection. Francisco Liriano, who has a 6.24 ERA for the year, pitches for the Twins. The beginning of Liriano’s season was so bad that Minnesota removed him from their rotation. He returned in late May and has pitched well since then, posting 29 strikeouts and 10 walks in four starts.
Erik Bedard takes the hill for the Bucs. Bedard has a 4.36 ERA for the season, but he got off to a great start to the year and has struggled recently, walking 15 batters in his last five outings and allowing seven earned runs in his last start, against the Orioles.
For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout. For more on the Twins, there’s Twinkie Town.