Well, strap in for this matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Pittsburgh Pirates. We're watching an invigorating faceoff, this time at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, a venue that marginally tilts the scales towards batters.
On the mound for Arizona, we got Ryne Nelson. While his performance this season has been relatively average with a 4.41 ERA and 1.32 WHIP, the lad's got some grit. However, his stats pale, and I mean PALE, in comparison to the Pirates' wonder kid Paul Skenes. His tiny 1.91 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, along with an impressive 11.6 K/9 ratio in just 13 appearances, have been lighting up the MLB this season.
Let's take a gander at the offensive stars. For the Diamondbacks, Ketel Marte is raking in a .356 average with 25 RBIs and 9 home runs, and his partner criminal Eugenio Suarez isn't staying too far behind with a .323 average and 27 RBIs. But hang on a min, the Pirates are not pushovers too. Bryan Reynolds boasts a .349 average, and Oneil Cruz isn't slouching either with a .326 average and 5 stolen bases.
Historically the bout between these two is riveting. Just last month, the Pirates beat the Diamondbacks twice in a tight contest. The teams are quite evenly pitted on regular-season records too, with Diamondbacks leading marginally at 59-52 wins to Pirates' 56-54 wins.
Given Skenes on the mound with Reynolds and Cruz ready to swing the bat, and a venue that slightly favors their style of play, my ballpark prediction is that the Pirates will hold their own quite nicely.
Albert’s Prediction: Pittsburgh Pirates by 2