Friday night at PNC Park the Pittsburgh Pirates and their cross-state foes the Philadelphia Phillies kicked off a three-game weekend set. Both teams sent struggling starting pitchers to the mound on Friday, which could have led people to believe Friday’s game would be filled with offensive fireworks. However, this was not the case as both starters turned in strong bounce back outings.
In front of 34,117 fans, the Pirates vital seven-game home stand got off on the wrong foot. Entering this stand the Pirates are 6.5 games out of first place in the National League Central and 4.