Pittsburgh @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 8, 2013 ) Miami 4, Pittsburgh 5

The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking more like last year's playoff team, and the reigning National League MVP is the biggest reason. The red-hot Andrew McCutchen leads the Pirates as they open a three-game road series against the Miami Marlins on Friday with a .500 record in their sights. The Pirates have won seven of the last nine meetings and captured the season series 4-2 last year.

The Pirates have won nine of their last 14 overall to get within two games of the break-even mark, but maintaining that will be tough in Miami, where the Marlins boast a major league-best 22-11 mark. The Marlins hope a homecoming will rejuvenate the offense, as they were blanked 6-0 by Texas on Wednesday to suffer their third loss in nine games and wrap up a seven-game road trip. Miami's bullpen will need to be at the ready, as starter Nathan Eovaldi is prepared to bolt for Texas at a moment's notice if his wife goes into labor with the couple's first child.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Florida (Miami)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates LH Jeff Locke (0-1, 5.11 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 3.27)

Locke's return to the rotation went well Sunday against Milwaukee, as he held the Brewers to one run and three hits. The 26-year-old was efficient, needing only 75 pitches to get through seven frames, but he wound up on the wrong end of a 1-0 final. Locke is 0-2 with a 4.15 ERA in three starts against the Marlins.

Eovaldi has turned in four straight quality starts, but the Marlins have lost the last two times he has taken the mound. He struck out eight last time out against the Cubs, allowing three runs and six hits over 7 2/3 innings in a no-decision. The 24-year-old has faced the Pirates only once in a brief relief appearance in 2011.

WALK-OFFS

1. McCutchen, who is hitting .429 in 11 games this month, is the first Pirates player with 15 extra-base hits in an 11-game span since Ralph Kiner in 1947.

2. Marlins OF Christian Yelich is 10-for-23 with three doubles and a homer during his five-game hitting streak, recording multiple hits in three of the five contests.

3. Pittsburgh LHP Tony Watson has not allowed a run in 21 2/3 innings, the club's longest streak since Charlie Morton went 24 frames in 2011.

PREDICTION: Marlins 4, Pirates 3