Pirates host the Padres to open 3-game series

San Diego Padres (19-11, second in the NL West) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (12-20, fifth in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Friday, 6:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Padres: Dylan Cease (1-2, 5.76 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 36 strikeouts); Pirates: Mitch Keller (1-2, 3.97 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 26 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Padres -150, Pirates +126; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates host the San Diego Padres to begin a three-game series.

Pittsburgh has a 7-9 record at home and a 12-20 record overall. The Pirates have a 9-5 record in games when they did not give up a home run.

San Diego has gone 5-7 in road games and 19-11 overall. The Padres have a 6-3 record in games decided by one run.

The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Oneil Cruz has eight home runs, 18 walks and 17 RBI while hitting .252 for the Pirates. Ke'Bryan Hayes is 12-for-39 with a double and five RBI over the last 10 games.

Fernando Tatis Jr. leads the Padres with 12 extra base hits (three doubles, a triple and eight home runs). Luis Arraez is 12-for-33 with a double, a triple, two home runs and five RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 4-6, .270 batting average, 4.60 ERA, outscored by 14 runs

Padres: 4-6, .217 batting average, 3.10 ERA, outscored by seven runs

INJURIES: Pirates: Justin Lawrence: 15-Day IL (elbow), Timothy Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Endy Rodriguez: 10-Day IL (finger), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Gonzales: 10-Day IL (ankle), Spencer Horwitz: 10-Day IL (wrist), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Padres: Mason McCoy: 10-Day IL (finger), Bryan Hoeing: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Logan Gillaspie: 15-Day IL (oblique ), Brandon Lockridge: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Jake Cronenworth: 10-Day IL (rib), Matt Waldron: 60-Day IL (oblique), Jackson Merrill: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Jhony Brito: 60-Day IL (forearm), Yu Darvish: 15-Day IL (elbow), Sean Reynolds: 15-Day IL (foot), Joe Musgrove: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.