So far this season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have shocked the baseball world with their quick turnaround from last season and the last 18 years. They have a winning record in late June, something that has eluded them for the past 12 years, and 20 road wins which is already more than the 17 from all of last season. The Pirates have also won series against some of baseball's best in the Phillies, Red Sox and Diamondbacks. With their last interleague series in Toronto the Pirates can check another box off their list for success.
Win.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have not won a game in an American League park since 2009 against the Minnesota Twins. Since then, they've lost 13 straight including getting swept by the Cleveland Indians on Father's Day weekend. Starting off the series for the Pirates will be Kevin Correia who is 7-2 with a 2.34 ERA on the road. The Blue Jays will counter with Jo-Jo Reyes who is 1-2 with a 4.31 ERA at home, this season. Correia will be responsible for shutting down two potent hitters, Adam Lind and former Pirate Jose Bautista who leads the league with 23 home runs.
If Neil Walker could break out of his slump, it would certainly help the 24th ranked offense. Walker is batting just .221/.310/.326 with 2 home runs and a surprising 17 RBI's. After his batting average rose to .273 on June 2nd, Walker has seen it drop to .252. While McCutchen has been the most consistent hitter for the Pirates, the lineup still has the ability to hit better than they have. Nevertheless, help may be on the way. Alex Presley was pulled from the lineup on Sunday in Indianapolis after Jose Tabata went down with a quad strain. He'll most likely start on Tuesday as a designated hitter.
Meanwhile, Matt Hague appears to be gaining popularity as a prospect who deserves a major league call up. The 6'3 225lbs first baseman is currently hitting .317 with 8 home runs for AAA Indianapolis while Lyle Overbay continues to struggle in Pittsburgh. Overbay did hit a crucial 3 run homer against the Red Sox on Saturday which may have bought him a little more time to show his $5 million contract wasn't a waste of money. However, if Hague continues to rake in AAA while Overbay continues to fail, you would have to think management would give Hague a chance to prove himself at the major league level.
Lyle Overbay will have a chance to face his former club in this upcoming series. The left handed slugger hit .268 with 83 home runs in 5 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays prior to joining the Pirates in the off-season.
Like the Pirates, the Toronto Blue Jays are 6-6 in interleague play this season.