The Pittsburgh Pirates (31-27), after years of home futility, are finally starting to pile up the wins at PNC Park, and new Pirate A.J. Burnett (5-2, 3.76 ERA) is one of the big reasons why.
The much-maligned former Yankee sports the best home ERA in the National League, and on Sunday against the Kansas City Royals (24-33) will be looking to win his fifth straight home start. Burnett is 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA in five PNC Park starts.
Kansas City will counter with the nomadic Bruce Chen (5-5, 4.37 ERA), who has enjoyed some success of late. The lefty is 5-1 with a 3.79 ERA in six starts since May 9. However, in his career, Chen is 0-4 with a 6.20 ERA against the Pirates in five starts.
A win by Pittsburgh on Sunday would complete their first interleague sweep since 2001.
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