Kansas City @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 18, 2018 ) Kansas City 1, Pittsburgh 2

The Pittsburgh Pirates' playoff chances are all but gone, but they seem intent on finishing strong, especially at home. The Pirates seek their fifth straight victory overall and their eighth in a row at PNC Park when they host the Kansas City Royals for the finale of a three-game interleague series Wednesday night.

Pittsburgh has a pair of one-run wins to begin the set, riding Jameson Taillon's seven scoreless innings, a pinch-hit homer by Colin Moran and an 11th-inning RBI single by Ryan Lavarnway to Tuesday's 2-1 victory. With the win, the Pirates have claimed 11 straight home contests played in the month of September dating to last season and they are two games over .500 for the first time in over a month. After averaging 7.5 runs over their previous four contests, the Royals were limited to seven hits over 11 innings Tuesday and narrowly avoided being shut out thanks to a game-tying RBI double with two outs in the ninth by Hunter Dozier. They will lean on rookie Heath Fillmyer in Wednesday's finale as he starts opposite veteran Chris Archer for Pittsburgh.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Kansas City, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Heath Fillmyer (3-1, 4.76 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Chris Archer (4-8, 4.66)

Fillmyer worked at least seven innings in two of his last three starts, including a personal-best 7 1/3 last time out against Minnesota. He has a 16.20 ERA over the past three road outings while allowing 18 hits in 8 1/3 innings. The 24-year-old's one interleague start was a gem, as he held the Chicago Cubs to three hits over seven scoreless innings to pick up his first career win Aug. 8.

Archer gave up four runs over five innings in a loss at Milwaukee on Friday, extending his winless streak to six starts. He struck out eight batters in the loss, his best total in almost two months, while raising his ERA as a Pirate to 5.49. The North Carolina native, who turns 30 next week, is 1-4 with a 4.50 ERA in six career starts against the Royals.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pirates 1B Josh Bell is batting .333 in 41 career interleague games.

2. Royals 1B Ryan O'Hearn is 6-for-11 with three RBIs and three runs scored during a three-game hitting streak.

3. Pittsburgh LHP Felipe Vazquez had converted 24 straight save opportunities before Dozier's RBI double against him in the ninth.

PREDICTION: Pirates 6, Royals 4