Pirates at Tigers
The Pittsburgh Pirates, led by Starling Marte, have thoroughly enjoyed interleague play over the past year. Marte leads the Pirates into another matchup with an American League team when they complete a two-game series at the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.
Marte's two-run blast in the top of the 10th inning lifted Pittsburgh to a 5-3 win over the Tigers on Tuesday in the opener of the set, giving the Pirates a 16-5 record against AL opponents - 6-1 versus Detroit - since the start of the 2018 season. Marte's second home run of the year extended his on-base streak in interleague play to 21 games, during which he is batting .397. Pirates right-hander Trevor Williams has dominated the Tigers in two previous encounters, first spinning seven innings of one-hit ball in a 2017 matchup and then pitching six hitless frames at Comerica Park last season. He gets the nod Wednesday opposite Spencer Turnbull for Detroit, which has lost four in a row and five of its last six.
TV: 6:40 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, FS Detroit Plus
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Trevor Williams (1-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Spencer Turnbull (0-2, 4.80)
Williams has posted three straight quality starts to begin the year and the Pirates have won all three games. He limited the Washington Nationals to two runs and four hits in a season-high 6 1/3 strikeouts on Friday. The 26-year-old is 5-1 with a 1.80 ERA in eight career interleague starts.
Turnbull fell to 0-4 in six career starts when he was knocked around for three runs and eight hits over four innings against Cleveland on Thursday. The University of Alabama product has an impressive 19 strikeouts against five walks in 15 innings this year but opponents are hitting .300 against him. Turnbull, who owns a 7.07 career ERA at home, has never faced the Pirates.
WALK-OFFS
1. Tigers RF Nicholas Castellanos was 1-for-5 on Tuesday after missing the previous three games with a toe injury.
2. Pirates RHP Nick Kingham notched his first career save in the series opener with a perfect 10th.
3. Pittsburgh has won five straight at Comerica Park.