clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Royals Vs. Pirates: A.J. Burnett Looks To Pitch Pittsburgh To Rare Interleague Sweep

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.

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout. For more on the Royals, there's Royals Review. Still not enough baseball for you? Head on over to SB Nation's MLB Hub Page,Baseball Nation, for all the latest news from all 30 MLB teams.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.