Pirates at Astros
The Pittsburgh Pirates lead the major leagues with a .292 batting average in June and hope to continue their hot hitting when they visit the Houston Astros on Thursday afternoon for the rubber match of their three-game series. Pittsburgh prevailed 14-2 on Wednesday for its fifth victory in six contests as rookie Kevin Newman (.326 this season) extended baseball's longest active hitting streak to 16 games (.375) after going 4-for-6.
Josh Bell leads the majors with 68 RBIs after belting a two-run homer for the Pirates on Wednesday, driving in runs for the first time in six games. Houston, which has recorded 50 wins at the midway point of a season for the fourth time in club history (1979, 2017, 2018), has lost eight of its last nine contests but still owns a 5 1/2-game lead over Texas in the American League West. The Astros, who own the AL's best home record at 28-12, will put their unbeaten home series record this season (9-0-3) on the line. Pittsburgh's Joe Musgrove on Thursday pitches against his former team for the first time as he opposes Brad Peacock, who has lost his last two starts.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Joe Musgrove (5-7, 4.57 ERA) vs. Astros RH Brad Peacock (6-5, 3.62)
Musgrove allowed one run and five hits while registering eight strikeouts in seven innings of a 2-1 victory over San Diego on Friday. The 26-year-old Californian bounced back after yielding six runs and nine hits in four frames of a 6-5 loss at Atlanta on June 13 - the fourth time he's permitted at least that many runs this season. Musgrove came to Pittsburgh in the trade for Gerrit Cole prior to the 2018 campaign.
Peacock was a tough-luck loser after allowing two runs and five hits with 11 strikeouts in six innings of a 4-1 loss at Yankee Stadium on Friday. The 31-year-old Floridian is 1-3 with a 3.67 ERA in his last six starts. Peacock has struck out 87 batters while yielding 66 hits in 82 frames this season and owns a 1.10 WHIP.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pirates LF Corey Dickerson matched a career high with four hits on Wednesday, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs.
2. Houston CF George Springer homered among his three hits on Wednesday and is 4-for-8 in two games since missing 27 with a hamstring injury.
3. Pittsburgh 3B Jung Ho Kang went 2-for-5 with his seventh home run in 127 at-bats this season, raising his average to .156.