Pittsburgh faces Arizona, looks to build on Williams' strong outing
Arizona Diamondbacks (13-11, second in the NL West) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (12-9, second in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Merrill Kelly (1-2, 4.37 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 22 strikeouts) Pirates: Jordan Lyles (1-0, 0.53 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 18 strikeouts)
LINE: Pirates favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Pirates are 6-5 in home games. Pittsburgh is hitting a collective batting average of .230 this season, led by Melky Cabrera with an average of .297.
The Diamondbacks are 9-6 on the road. The Arizona offense has compiled a .267 batting average as a team this season, good for fourth in the MLB. Christian Walker leads the team with a mark of .329. The Diamondbacks won the last meeting 2-1. Luke Weaver secured his second victory and Eduardo Escobar went 3-for-4 with a double for Arizona. Trevor Williams took his first loss for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 21 hits and is batting .284. Jung Ho Kang is 4-for-29 with two home runs and three RBIs over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
Walker leads the Diamondbacks with seven home runs and is batting .329. David Peralta is 10-for-37 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Arizona.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 6-4, .219 batting average, 3.38 ERA, outscored opponents by one run
Diamondbacks: 7-3, .270 batting average, 2.93 ERA, outscored opponents by 20 runs
Pirates Injuries: Edgar Santana: 60-day IL (elbow), Jordan Lyles: day-to-day (hand), Chad Kuhl: 60-day IL (elbow), Nick Burdi: 10-day IL (biceps), Bryan Reynolds: day-to-day (quad), Starling Marte: 10-day IL (abdominal contusion), Corey Dickerson: 10-day IL (shoulder), Lonnie Chisenhall: 10-day IL (finger), Jose Osuna: 10-day IL (neck), Kevin Newman: 10-day IL (finger), Erik Gonzalez: 60-day IL (left clavicle).
Diamondbacks Injuries: Taijuan Walker: 60-day IL (elbow), T.J. McFarland: 10-day IL (shoulder), Silvino Bracho: 60-day IL (elbow), Steven Souza Jr.: 10-day IL (knee), Jake Lamb: 10-day IL (quad), Alex Avila: 10-day IL (quad).
