Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 24, 2016 ) Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 5

The Pittsburgh Pirates no longer look like a serious playoff contender in the National League and missed out on an opportunity to stay on the fringes of the race with a series loss at home to the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend. The Pirates will try to avoid a fourth consecutive loss when they hit the road and visit the Philadelphia Phillies for the opener of a four-game series on Monday.

Pittsburgh has dropped 11 of its last 13 games - with six of those setbacks coming at home against sub-.500 teams Milwaukee and Cincinnati - to fall to six games behind the New York Mets for the second NL wild card. The Pirates offense went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base in Sunday's 8-0 loss to the Reds while the pitching staff allowed six or more runs for the eighth time in the last 13 contests. The Phillies dropped three straight over the weekend as well but battled the NL East-leading Washington Nationals, dropping a pair of one-run decisions and falling 3-0 on Saturday after surrendering a late home run. Philadelphia's offense has managed more than four runs three times in the last 21 games.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), CSN Philadelphia

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Gerrit Cole (7-9, 3.55 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Jeremy Hellickson (10-9, 3.90)

Cole is making his first start since Aug. 24 after dealing with an elbow injury and is taking the rotation spot of rookie Jameson Taillon, who is having his innings monitored. Cole went 0-3 with a 7.06 ERA in four starts prior to going down but came through his bullpen session on Saturday with no issues. The former No. 1 overall pick was solid against Philadelphia on July 22, allowing one run and striking out seven in six innings, but came away with a loss in a 4-0 final.

Hellickson is struggling of late and suffered a loss at Miami on Wednesday, yielding four runs - three earned - and nine hits while recording one strikeout in six innings. The 29-year-old is 0-2 and has allowed a total of 13 runs - 12 earned - in 16 innings over his last three outings. Hellickson is making his third career start against the Pirates and went 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in the first two chances.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pirates 2B Josh Harrison (right groin) sat out Sunday and could miss the next few games.

2. Philadelphia 3B Maikel Franco (thumb) has been limited to pinch hitting of late, but could return Monday.

3. Pittsburgh 3B Jung Ho Kang is 12-for-23 in seven games since coming off the disabled list.

PREDICTION: Pirates 4, Phillies 2