Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 13, 2016 ) Pittsburgh 5, Philadelphia 3

The Pittsburgh Pirates appear ready to throw in the towel on the 2016 season and turn their sights toward competing in 2017 and the years to follow. The Philadelphia Phillies, who host the Pirates in the third of a four-game series on Wednesday, have been looking toward the future all season and have a few reasons to be excited about what's to come.

Pittsburgh picked up a 5-3 win on Tuesday to snap a four-game slide and win for the third time in the last 15 games but remained six games behind the New York Mets for the second National League wild card. The Pirates suffered two serious blows this week with the news that Josh Harrison (hamstring) would miss the rest of the season and ace Gerrit Cole (elbow) would join him on the sidelines. Cole, who lasted only two innings while trying to make his return to the rotation on Monday, was placed on the 60-day disabled list Tuesday, easing any pressure he might have felt to pitch through the pain in an effort to help the team compete. Philadelphia has already eclipsed last season's win total and continues to introduce promising young players to the roster, with Roman Quinn and Jorge Alfaro the latest to make an impact.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates LH Steven Brault (0-2, 3.38 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Jake Thompson (1-5, 6.05)

Brault is making his sixth major-league start and looking for his first win after being held out of the decision on Friday against Cincinnati. The 24-year-old allowed two runs over five innings against the Reds and surrendered three or fewer runs in each of his five outings. Brault is seeing Philadelphia for the first time in his career and is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in three road starts.

Thompson is winless in his last five outings but pitched well in the last three - allowing two or fewer earned runs in each. The 22-year-old rookie yielded two runs in 5 1/3 innings at Washington on Friday but was held out of the decision in a game the Phillies ended up losing 5-4. The four runs supplied by the Philadelphia offense in that contest were one more than the team totaled in Thompson's previous four starts combined.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Pirates also placed C Chris Stewart (knee) on the 60-day DL on Tuesday, and he will visit Dr. James Andrews next week.

2. Philadelphia 1B Ryan Howard is 0-for-6 with four strikeouts in the series, dropping his batting average to .191.

3. Pittsburgh acquired veteran LHP Wade LeBlanc from the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday in exchange for cash considerations.

PREDICTION: Pirates 6, Phillies 2