Pittsburgh Pirates vs. San Diego Padres: What to Expect

For the first time since the 2019 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates are welcoming in a team not from the NL Central or AL Central when they host the San Diego Padres. We look at what to expect in the first four-game series of the year at PNC Park.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have seen a lot of the National League Central teams as of late, and haven't seen another National League team yet. After playing just the NL Central and AL Central last season, and having their first nine games of the season against division opponents, the Pirates are probably glad to get out of their division. However, they have a challenge ahead of them as they welcome in the red hot San Diego Padres for the first four-game series of the 2021 season. The Padres were one of the teams that stockpiled Major League talent this off-season, including acquiring former Pirates pitcher Joe Musgrove in a seven-player deal. They are off to a hot start and are looking to challenge the Dodgers in the NL West.

However, after a slow start to the year, the Pirates are gaining some momentum as well. They won their first series of the year against the Chicago Cubs this weekend, and the offense looked to finally come to life. It was a feel-good moment for the Pirates and got their record back to 3-6 heading into this big series. It will give these young Bucs a chance to see how they truly stack up against some of the best competition that the National League has to offer. The pitching staff looks to be turning a corner the second time through the rotation, as all four starters so far have improved from their first outings of the season. Today, we look at what to expect as the Padres come to town for the first time since the 2019 season.

Scouting the Padres

The San Diego Padres are coming off of a series where they did it all and swept the Texas Rangers. The offense scored a combined 12 runs in the series, while the pitching staff was almost unhittable, and literally was one night. Prior to their series in Texas, the Padres struggled out of the gate, dropping three of their first seven games of the season. It was a disappointing start, but with all the talent on their team, you knew they were bound to get going. It started with a stellar pitching performance by former Pirates pitcher Joe Musgrove on Friday. Musgrove made his second start for his hometown Padres and ended up throwing the first no-hitter in Padres history. The Padres scored him three runs, and that was more than enough as the only base runner he allowed was was a hit batter while he struck out 10.

From there, the Padres continued the momentum of the historic night for the rest of the series. They scored a 7-4 win on Saturday and a 2-0 win on Sunday to complete the series sweep. The Padres have a lot of prolific bats in their lineup, but none has been hotter than that of first baseman Eric Hosmer. The left-handed-hitting first baseman has appeared in all nine games for the Padres and is leading the team in all three major offensive categories. He is hitting .353 with three home runs and eight RBI and has at least one hit in four of his last five games. While not the power threat that Hosmer is, fellow infielder Jake Croneworth is also a guy to watch out for at the top of the lineup. He has a hit in all but two games for the Padres, including three multi-hit games, and is batting .351.

Pirates Offense Coming to Life

After an absolutely dreadful series in Cincinnati that saw the Pirates get outscored 30-8, things weren't looking good for the Pirates. However, this weekend they showed their true potential and put on a hitting display. They went from being outscored to outscoring the Cubs over the three-game series 16-8 on their way to winning their first series of the year. This success was because of a combination of breakout performances and some key players getting back on track. One of those players back on track was outfielder Bryan Reynolds who went 5-14 (.357) with two RBI in the series, capped off with a 4-5 day in yesterday's 7-1 win. For the Pirates, it will be big to get Bryan Reynolds going again as he is a catalyst for the offense when he is on.

Another guy who has been lighting it up as of late is infielder/outfielder Phillip Evans, who has gotten significantly more playing time since the Ke'Bryan Hayes injury. Evans is the Pirates leading hitter at .393 and has the team lead in home runs with three so far this season. He hit .333 (4-12) against the Cubs and has greatly improved his defense at third with a nice snag in the series finale. Even the pitchers we're getting in on the fun this weekend as JT Brubaker had a big day in the series finale. Not only did he allow just one run in 5.1 innings of work, but he went 1-3 at the plate and led the team with three RBI. The offense is going to be an important factor in the series with the Padres, and they will have to be on their game for the Pirates to have success.

Breaking the Curse of San Diego

While the Pirates are excited to welcome in a team, not from the AL or NL Central, they probably aren't so thrilled that it is the San Diego Padres. Since the 2000 season, the San Diego Padres coming to PNC Park usually wasn't a good sign for the team. Since then, the Pirates have a record of 27-40 against the Padres and have only won three series over that 20-year span. Overall, the teams have been playing each other since the 1969 season, and the Pirates have the overall series lead with a record of 264-225 against the Padres. However, over the last couple of seasons, the Pirates have started to change the narrative, and they are looking to finally get back on the winning side of the match-up.

The last time the Pirates welcomed the Padres to PNC Park was from June 21st through June 23rd of 2019. The Pirates ended up sweeping the three-game series, thanks to great production from their offense. The series started in a pitcher's duel as the Pirates got seven strong innings from current Padre Joe Musgrove and a home run by Jose Osuna won the game in the 8th 2-1. In game two, the Pirates fell behind early, but we're able to rally back with a four-run bottom of the eighth as they secured a 6-3 win in game two and looked for the sweep in game three. That is when the bats came out and it wasn't good for any pitcher on either side. The Pirates were down 7-4 in the ninth and rallied to tie the game at 7-7. However, the Padres fought back in the 11th and put the Pirates down 10-7, before a four-run rally, and a Kevin Newman walk-off won the game. The Pirates are hoping for similar success in this series as they look to keep the momentum going.

Game one of this four-game series kicks off tonight as the Pittsburgh Pirates (3-6) battle the San Diego Padres (7-3) at 6:35 pm. Trevor Cahill (0-1, 15.75) looks for a bounce-back effort in his second Pirates start against Yu Darvish (0-0, 4.22) for the Padres. You can watch the game on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter at @Buccos_Cove.

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