Starting Pitching Duel On Tap For Pirates Vs Blue Jays

Pirates vs. Blue Jays, 3:07 ET

For whatever reason this season, I feel like I haven't been as good on the weekend as I've been the rest of the days of the week. This wasn't a great week for me, so maybe this weekend will be the time for the rebound. Now that Saturday is here, I am looking forward to a few games that are on the slate, including this one. I wouldn't say there are often a ton of reasons to watch a game between the Pirates and Blue Jays, but this is one that I think we have a good edge on and we can take home a unit.

I wonder how Pirates fans are feeling this season. Are they already looking forward to next year? Are they looking at this season as the start of something and maybe even a Wild Card possibility? There is a ton of baseball that needs to be played, but the Pirates are within striking distance of getting back above .500 and allowing themselves to at least remain somewhat relevant. Right now, it looks like they probably will still end up fourth or fifth in the division this season. That's not that big of a deal as they really just need to see progress from their squad. There are a number of young players and the team is being built around their pitching staff right now. One of their better young pitchers is Mitch Keller. Keller is off to a nice outing with a 6-3 record, and a 3.59 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He was an All-Star last year and I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen again this season. He did have a pretty tough start to the season as he allowed four earned runs in four of his first stix starts. He has been significantly better since the month of May started, posting a 1.30 ERA this month, allowing just four earned runs over 27.2 innings. His WHIP this month is below one, and it could be even better but he issued three walks in one game (only issuing four this month). He's not faced many Blue Jays hitters, but has held them to a .214 average in 14 at-bats. 

May 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;  Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller (23) delivers a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

I have to wonder if the Blue Jays are going to be able to make a push at some point this season. The team came out of the gates struggling, but I thought it was due to a rough start to the year where they played 10 road games to open the year. Once they started getting onto their home turf, I expected them to improve a bit, and they did. However, it really hasn't lasted as the team is basically .500 for the season on their home field. They are below .500 for the season and on the road, but it isn't drastically bad. Their hitting has been the biggest issue, and even though Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has done a good job of rebounding from a slow start, the rest of the team is still not hitting very well. They do have a higher batting average than the Pirates, but they have scored fewer runs on the season. The pitching staff hasn't been great, but hasn't been terrible either. Probably their best pitcher this season, Yusei Kikuchi, takes the ball today. Kikuchi has been very good overall with a 2-4 record and a 3.25 ERA. His WHIP is a strong 1.20 with 61 strikeouts this season, but he gets better when he pitches in Toronto. For the year, he has thrown 32 innings over five starts and allowed just 10 earned runs. His home ERA is almost a full run lower than his road ERA. He is coming off of his worst start of the year where he allowed five earned runs on eight hits over three innings. Pirates hitters are hitting just .231 against him over 26 at-bats, but five of them have gone for extra bases. 

I actually think the Pirates are live dogs here, but I think a better idea is to take the under through the first five innings. I think we can depend on both pitchers to be reasonably effective against their opponent, especially early in the game. The Pirates aren't a great hitting team, and the Blue Jays don't seem to manufacture runs well. I'm going to back the under through five innings. 

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