Series Preview: Atlanta Braves take on the Pittsburgh Pirates
Game 2-Kevin Gausman vs. Joe Musgrove
Beat writers better be ready to shade in the home plate of their scorebooks for this one.
Kevin Gausman had the shortest outing of his career last time out against the Nationals.
He lasted just an inning, while giving up eight earned runs. That bumped his season ERA to 5.56.
Jon Heyman mentioned in a tweet last week that the Yankees and Braves were the two teams most heavily involved with Dallas Keuchel, so one would deduce the Braves are losing patience with Gausman.
The draft pick attachment goes away first minute Monday, at 12:01 am. So look for Keuchel/Kimbrel to sign after that, maybe not too long after. Hear Yankees/Braves strongly in on DK; Twins, Brewers, Cards, Rays among others. CK market also active. ATL, PHI, MINN, TB, many more.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 31, 2019
In his previous five starts before the stinker against the Nats, Gausman was 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA.
He has faced the Pirates four times in his career and is 1-1 with a 4.01 ERA.
Adam Frazier is 2-13, Josh Bell is 3-11, Starling Marte is 3-6 and Gregory Polanco’s one hit is a home run.
It is difficult to believe that another starting pitcher has had it much worse than Gausman recently, but that would be Gausman’s opposition, Joe Musgrove.
In his six May starts, Musgrove threw 30 innings, allowed a .302 batting average against, a .888 OPS and an ERA of 8.10
But with injuries and lack of depth in the rotation, the Pirates have no other choice but to keep throwing Musgrove out there.
In his two career starts against the Braves, Musgrove is 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA.
Freddie Freeman is 2-6 with a home run and it is too bad he is hurt because Ender Inciarte is 1-5 with a homer.
Baseball is always unpredictable, but this one seems rather predictable: a high-scoring game that will be decided by the bullpens.