Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves play in game 2 of series
Atlanta Braves (18-20, third in the NL East) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (13-26, fifth in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Saturday, 4:05 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: AJ Smith-Shawver (2-2, 3.00 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 27 strikeouts); Pirates: Andrew Heaney (2-3, 3.18 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 34 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Braves -145, Pirates +122; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates host the Atlanta Braves, leading the series 1-0.
Pittsburgh is 13-26 overall and 8-12 in home games. The Pirates have a 2-4 record in games when they hit at least two home runs.
Atlanta has an 18-20 record overall and a 6-14 record in road games. Braves pitchers have a collective 3.99 ERA, which ranks eighth in the NL.
Saturday’s game is the second time these teams meet this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Oneil Cruz leads the Pirates with eight home runs while slugging .476. Ke’Bryan Hayes is 11 for 39 with a double and two RBIs over the past 10 games.
Austin Riley leads the Braves with eight home runs while slugging .487. Eli White is 11 for 36 with two doubles, three triples and two RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 2-8, .197 batting average, 5.07 ERA, outscored by 31 runs
Braves: 5-5, .221 batting average, 2.97 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
INJURIES: Pirates: Enmanuel Valdez: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Justin Lawrence: 60-Day IL (elbow), Timothy Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Endy Rodriguez: 10-Day IL (finger), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Gonzales: 10-Day IL (ankle), Spencer Horwitz: 10-Day IL (wrist), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Braves: Ignacio Alvarez: 60-Day IL (wrist), Spencer Strider: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Reynaldo Lopez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Joe Jimenez: 60-Day IL (knee), Ronald Acuna: 10-Day IL (knee)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.