In a must-win for the Pittsburgh Pirates, starter Jared Jones will be looking to keep his scoreless streak alive.
The Pittsburgh Pirates will enter their second game of a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers desperately needing a win.
Pittsburgh dropped the opening game of the series 5-1, failing to seize an opportunity in the playoff standings. The Pirates faced off against Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski, only being able to generate five hits over five innings.
Heading into this game today, the Pirates find themselves seven games back of the final wild-card spot. The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are both sitting ahead of them, putting the Pirates' chance to reach the playoffs in doubt.
But this team isn't giving up hope, even with the heavily slim odds against them. Pittsburgh will be trying to get back into the race, but this group will need to start stacking wins to do so.
In the second game of the series, the Pirates will be turning to right-hander Jared Jones to help keep their playoff hopes alive. Jones has been very solid for Pittsburgh this season, putting up a 4.10 ERA over 18 starts.
But over his 14 starts, Jones has been electric for the Pirates. In 13 of his last 14 starts, Jones has allowed three runs or fewer, showing dominance on the mound.
Looking at his numbers even more recently, Jones hasn't given up a run in two of his last three outings. This includes nothing over his last 13 innings against the Los Angeles Angels and Chicago White Sox.
Pittsburgh will need another strong performance from the right-hander against the Brewers if they are to keep pace in the standings. But against the best team in baseball, it could be much easier said than done.
Jones faced the Brewers in early August, going four innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, while striking out four. This game with Milwaukee will be a good test for the young starter, showing him what a playoff-level game feels like.
The Pirates' chances to get into the playoffs may be low, but this team is going to fight until the season ends. Pittsburgh has been much more competitive this year, and it's shown over the long season.
This franchise hasn't made the playoffs since the 2015 season, but the future remains bright for the Pirates, even if they can't get in this year. But until they are officially eliminated from postseason contention, Pittsburgh believes that they have a chance to end the drought.
