Diamondbacks at Pirates, 3:40 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34
Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (6-2, 3.52) vs. Pirates RHP Mike Burrows (1-3, 4.70).
At PNC Park: Nelson fired six innings of one-run ball against the Cardinals over the weekend in his first start out of the All-Star break. In eight starts since taking RHP Corbin Burnes’ spot in the rotation, Nelson has logged a 3.61 ERA in 42 1/3 innings. … Nelson started against the Pirates on May 26, giving up just four hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings. … Nelson’s fastball, which averages 95.5 mph, has held opponents to a .187 average against. … Burrows has struggled to find consistency in his first extended run in the big leagues. He was all right in his most recent start (two runs, five innings) but was hammered for six runs in 1 1/3 innings the time before that. … He was hit hard by the Diamondbacks on May 27, giving up five runs (four earned) in 3 1/3 innings in what was his second career major league start. … He averages 95.2 mph with his fastball, but the pitch has been getting hit hard (.325 average, .538 slugging). His change-up has been his best pitch, getting whiffs on 48.1 percent of swings with a .174 opponents’ average.
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July 26: At Pittsburgh, 3:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (9-5, 3.32) vs. Pirates LHP Andrew Heaney (4-9, 5.03).
July 27: At Pittsburgh, 10:35 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (7-11, 5.58) vs. Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (5-8, 1.91).
July 28: At Detroit, 3:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-6, 5.50) vs. Tigers RHP Casey Mize (9-4, 3.40).
The Pirates are well out of the National League wild-card race, but they do have a must-see pitcher in their rotation who is scheduled to face the Diamondbacks this weekend. RHP Paul Skenes, who started the All-Star Game for the NL for the second year in a row, pitched six scoreless innings in his first start out of the break against the American League Central-leading Detroit Tigers. Skenes routinely reaches 100 mph with his fastball and has 137 strikeouts to just 31 walks in 21 starts this season. Skenes got the win over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 28 in a 10-1 Pirates victory. The Pirates took two of three from the Diamondbacks in that series. Their offense is led by the athletic CF Oneil Cruz, who has 16 home runs and 33 stolen bases.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks vs. Pirates: Pitching matchups, more