Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cleveland Indians: What to Expect

The Pittsburgh Pirates head back home as they bring their 10-game losing streak with them to PNC Park. They welcome in the Cleveland Indians for a three-game series as they look to then things around.

To say things haven't been going the Pittsburgh Pirates' way as of late would be an understatement. They have currently lost 10-games in a row and just endured their third straight sweep at the hands of the Washington Nationals. Their offense has been struggling, scoring four runs or less in all 10 of those games, marking the first time since 1968 that the Pirates lost 10-straight games and scored four runs or less in each of those games. They have dropped to a season-low 21 games under .500 and their inexperience has started to show. However, there are some positive signs like Hayes's hitting, Newman's defense, and Frazier's consistency to get on base.

After an off-day on Thursday, the Pirates are looking to hit the reset button when they return to the friendly confines of PNC Park. They welcome in the Cleveland Indians as the Pittsburgh/Cleveland rivalry begins its next chapter. It is another interleague match-up and a special one for me personally. My late grandpa was a huge Indians fan, and every time they would play the Pirates we would always call and talk about the game and he would tell me "the Pirates cheated" if they won. The Pirates are looking to relive some of their memories from the glory days and get back in the win column against their AL Central rivals. Today, we look at what to expect as the Pirates begin this interleague series against the Indians.

Scouting the Indians

Much to the chagrin of Pirates fans, the Cleveland Indians enter this three-game series on a hot streak. They have won six of their last seven games and are coming off of a four-game sweep over the Baltimore Orioles. They scored a combined 29 runs in the four games, including a 10-run outburst in the finale of the four-game series yesterday. Likewise, the pitching staff has been just as strong allowing three earned runs or less in three of the four games in the series. In an interview after Thursday's game, manager Terry Francona said "This is the real Cleveland Indians," indicating that the Indians are turning a corner and getting back to being competitive.

Over the last seven games, the Indians have seen several of their players bounce back with four different Indians having over a .300 average. They have been led by their young shortstop Amed Rosario, who is hitting .419 (13-31) with six runs scored in his last seven games. He has found a home in the number two spot in the batting order, hitting .393 there and has been setting the table for the middle of the order. With Rosario setting things up, it has been Bob Bradley driving him in. Bradley comes in right behind Rosario in batting average, hitting .364 in his last seven games, and has led the team with three home runs and eight RBI during that timeframe. The Pirates are catching the Indians offense at the wrong time and are hoping to cool down what has been a hot Indians lineup.

Keep the Defense Going

If there is one spot on the field where the Pirates have shown considerable improvement this season is on defense. In 2020, they were one of the worst defensive team's with a .977 fielding percentage that was good for 29th out of 30 teams. They were off to a slow start this season, but have come back strong and are currently in the top 10 in the league in fielding percentage at .984. The Pirates infield has seen the biggest improvement this season, with some moves helping via addition and subtraction. With Colin Moran moving to first base and Ke'Bryan Hayes stepping in at third, it helped a struggling Moran and got rid of Josh Bell's less than stellar defense over at first base.

However, the man who has been leading the Pirates defensive game this season is shortstop Kevin Newman. Newman has broken the Pirates franchise record with 56 consecutive errorless games at shortstop, breaking the previous record of 54. Newman is currently the only shortstop who has not committed an error in Major League Baseball. He leads the league with 6.3 defensive runs saved this season and is almost a full run better than the next best shortstop. Combine Newman's success with Hayes and Frazier's already stellar defense, and the Pirates infield has been one of the top defensive teams in the league. With the defense improving, the pitchers can pitch with more confidence knowing that they have a strong defense behind them.

Allow The Starters To Go Deeper

One thing that the Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitchers have not done well at is going deep into ball games. There have only been two Pirates pitchers who worked into the seventh inning this season. Tyler Anderson and JT Brubaker are the only two who have accomplished the feat this year, with Brubaker going 7.0 innings and Anderson going 8.0 innings. Over the last couple of games, Pirates starters haven't been able to make it out of the fifth inning, and Chase De Jong was pulled after four innings and 71 pitches after giving up just one run. Manager Derek Shelton has said that he wants his pitchers to go deeper into games, so pulling De Jong was a curious move all around.

The guy opening the three-game series for the Pirates is Chad Kuhl, who has worked past the fifth inning of a game one time this season. However, the last time out didn't go nearly as well for the right-hander as he got lit up by the Milwaukee Brewers. He allowed five earned runs over 3.1 innings of work, including while walking four and striking out one. The key for Kuhl is that his control is working in his favor. If he is wild, it drives his pitch count up and doesn't allow him to work deeper into games. Especially against a hot Indians lineup, the key for Kuhl is to pound the strike zone and trust his defense behind him. The Pirates need some more length from their pitchers, and Chad Kuhl will try and set that tone tonight.

The Pittsburgh Pirates (23-44) open up their three-game set with the Cleveland Indians (38-28) tonight at 7:05 pm. Chad Kuhl (0-4, 6.52) is looking for his first win and a bounce-back effort on the mound as he takes on JC Mejia (1-1, 4.26) for the Indians. You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.

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