One number still on the table
The Kansas City Royals arrive in Pittsburgh tonight for the opener of a three-game series, and neither club is playing for October. The Pirates are eight games out of a playoff spot with nine to play. The Royals were eliminated some time ago.
Pittsburgh still has something worth counting. At 76-77, the Pirates can finish the season at .500 or better for the first time since 2018. Nine games decide it. They arrive off a 7-4 win over Milwaukee on Thursday, which also handed them the season series against the National League Central champions, seven games to six.
“They obviously won the division, and I think it’s something that we’re trying to get there,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “As we continue to compete against them and continue to get better, we need to find ways to do that.”
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Skenes takes the ball
Paul Skenes starts, and he faces the Royals for the first time in his career. His line reads 10-11 with a 3.78 ERA, a season that falls short of the one that won him the National League Cy Young Award a year ago. He still leads the staff with 185 strikeouts.
Kansas City counters with Randy Dobnak, who grew up in the greater Pittsburgh area and comes in at 3-4 with a 2.73 ERA. He took the loss to Boston on Saturday after allowing three runs on four hits across 5 2/3 innings. His only previous start against the Pirates went well: six scoreless innings in Pittsburgh on Aug. 5, 2020.
Records and auditions
The Pirates have already set a single-season franchise record for home runs. Henry Davis pushed the mark to 175 on Thursday, which tells you where the offense found its identity this year.
The Royals, 67-86 and losers of four of their past five, are using the closing weeks differently. Daniel Lynch IV allowed two hits over five shutout innings in Houston on Wednesday and is pitching for a rotation spot next season.
“I was really happy, particularly that I was able to command my four-seam fastball,” Lynch said. “I was able to keep them off balance a little bit, and then just mixing in my off-speed stuff, that’s how I’ve had success in the past.”
Kansas City closes its road schedule here, then plays its last six at home.
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