Pittsburgh @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 31, 2018 ) Pittsburgh 3, Atlanta 2

The Atlanta Braves were all-in on Chris Archer at the trade deadline before turning to Kevin Gausman at the last minute, and on Saturday night they host the Pittsburgh Pirates in a matchup of the starting pitcher they wanted against the hurler they acquired. Tampa Bay sent Archer to the Pirates after Pittsburgh offered a package more robust than other suitors, including the Braves, who in turn traded with Baltimore to land Gausman mere minutes before the July 31 deadline.

So far, Archer has struggled in his first five starts as the Pirates have slipped out of contention in the National League wild-card race, while Gausman has been outstanding in helping push the Braves into first place in the NL East. Pittsburgh took advantage of two critical Atlanta errors to win Friday’s series opener 3-2, trimming the Braves lead in the division to two games over Philadelphia. Pittsburgh infielder Josh Harrison singled in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak against Atlanta to 12 games and is batting .360 in that span with six RBIs. Atlanta rookie outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. ended his torrid August with a homer, finishing the month hitting .336 with 11 homers, 21 RBIs and 25 runs scored in 30 games.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet (Pittsburgh), FS South (Atlanta)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Chris Archer (4-7, 4.72 ERA) vs. Braves RH Kevin Gausman (9-9, 3.87)

Archer has lost his past two starts and is 1-2 with a 6.45 ERA since joining Pittsburgh, giving up four or more runs three times in five outings. The 29-year-old fell to the Braves on Aug. 20, pitching only four innings and allowing one run on five hits, then lasted just four innings Sunday at Milwaukee in surrendering six runs on seven hits. Archer has pitched to a 1.63 WHIP and a 5.77 ERA in seven starts between Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh since the All-Star break.

Gausman has sparked the Braves rotation since arriving, going 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA and issuing only seven walks in 32 innings. The 27-year-old has fired back-to-back shutouts in winning four games in a row, including eight scoreless innings at Pittsburgh on Aug. 21 and five innings of one-hit pitching five days later at Miami. Gausman gave up three runs in losing his first start with Atlanta to the Mets, but has surrendered just three runs in 27 innings since.

WALK-OFFS

1. Atlanta 3B Johan Camargo homered and finished with two hits Friday, and in 39 games since the All-Star break is hitting .324 with six homers, 25 RBIs and 20 runs scored.

2. Pirates CF Starling Marte extended his hitting streak to seven games with two hits Friday, and is batting .387 in that stretch with five runs scored and three multi-hit games.

3. The Braves have lost three in a row and seven of their past eight games at home.

PREDICTION: Pirates 5, Braves 4