Following their series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates will face off against another NL East club in the Washington Nationals this weekend.
The Pirates have set their rotation for their three-game set at Nationals Park, with Mitch Keller scheduled to start in the opener on July 3 before Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler toe the rubber on July 4 and July 5, respectively.
At 43-44 and three games back of the final Wild Card spot in the NL, the Pirates have some catching up to do ahead of the August 3 trade deadline, and they have the perfect opportunity to do so in the nation’s capital considering Washington is 1 1/2 games up on them currently.
After giving up seven or more runs in four of its last five games, Pittsburgh desperately needs its rotation to buckle down and deliver quality outings against a potent Nationals offense led by James Wood this weekend that has scored the most runs in the league with 470.
Keller, after logging a 8.70 ERA in six starts and 30 innings from May 13 to June 11, has finally begun settling in over his last handful of trips to the rubber.
In three outings from June 16 to June 28, the right-hander posted a 3.63 ERA and 15 strikeouts across 17 1/3 frames. Keller will have his work cut out for him against the Nats, and his season-long stats are still far off from where he or the Pirates would like them to do, but the hope is that he’s turning a corner.
Ashcraft has been stellar for Pittsburgh in his first full season as a starter at the major league level, boasting a 3.33 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 102 2/3 innings.
The 26-year-old right-hander was hit around by the Phillies earlier this week in a 11-7 win for the Pirates, though, giving up five earned runs over six innings.
Prior to that start, Ashcraft had allowed two or fewer earned runs in six of his last seven outings.
Chandler, who was unanimously viewed as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball heading into the season, has scuffled a bit as a rookie with a 4.62 ERA in 17 appearances (16 starts).
The 23-year-old flamethrower has run into issues with his command (12.7 percent walk rate), but he’s allowed two or fewer free passes in six of his last seven starts.
Chandler had also ceded two or fewer earned runs in his last four outings before Philadelphia scored five off of him over 6 1/3 innings on June 30.
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