Toronto @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( May 2, 2014 ) Toronto 5, Pittsburgh 6
Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons lost his job the last time his team visited Pittsburgh and likely experienced a similar hollow feeling in his return trip six years later. The Blue Jays look to rebound from a crushing loss on Saturday when they continue their three-game interleague series against the Pirates. Gibbons was in his first stint as Toronto’s manager in 2008 and ready to lead his struggling team in Pittsburgh when he was dismissed after leading the Blue Jays to a 35-39 record.
Gibbons was rehired in 2013 and Toronto had not played in Pittsburgh since his firing until Friday’s series opener, when Pedro Alvarez hit a game-tying two-run homer and Starling Marte delivered a walk-off solo shot in the ninth inning to give the Pirates a much-needed 6-5 win. While the result sent Toronto to its seventh loss in nine games, it also served as an important boost for a Pittsburgh team that had dropped three straight and 10 of its previous 12. The Pirates, who batted .217 and averaged 2.8 runs during their slump, showed signs of life in Friday’s victory with a season-high 17 hits.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, SNET, TVA Sports (Toronto), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH R.A. Dickey (2-3, 5.09 ERA) vs. Pirates LH Francisco Liriano (0-3, 3.97)
Dickey didn't walk a batter in his last start for the first time since Oct. 2, 2012, and turned in consecutive quality starts for the first time all season in Sunday’s 7-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox. The veteran knuckleballer yielded one run over 6 1/3 innings and matched his season high with six strikeouts for his first win in four outings. Dickey, who tied a career high with 13 strikeouts the last time he faced Pittsburgh in 2012, is 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA in seven all-time appearances (six starts) against the Pirates.
Forced from last Saturday’s 6-1 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals after two-plus innings due to dizziness and flu-like symptoms, Liriano remains winless heading into his seventh start. The 16-game winner from a season ago has been getting better run support of late (six runs in each of his last two turns) after Pittsburgh backed him with a total of four runs over his first four outings. Liriano defeated the Blue Jays the last time he started against them in 2012, but he is only 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA in five career outings (four starts) versus Toronto.
WALK-OFFS
1. Alvarez and Marte hit Pittsburgh's first homers in 70 innings on Friday.
2. After beginning the season 4-for-4 in save opportunities, Toronto RHP Sergio Santos has blown three of his last four chances.
3. Toronto RF Jose Bautista, who was dealt from the Pirates to the Blue Jays in 2008, went 2-for-5 and extended his hitting streak to 12 games in his first game in Pittsburgh since the trade.
PREDICTION: Pirates 5, Blue Jays 3