Teams from opposite ends of Pennsylvania and heading in opposite directions face off this weekend when the Philadelphia Phillies visit the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Philadelphia (47-37) has won four games in a row and six of its past seven to sit 10 games above .500 for the first time since late 2011.
r0;I think itr17;s a nice milestone and one that we can celebrate. Wer17;ll use it as fuel and motivation Wayne Gretzky Jersey ,r1; Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said.
The Phillies have put themselves in solid contention in the National League East. The series opener Friday against Pittsburgh launches a four-city, 11-game road trip that leads into the All-Star break.
r0;We never really doubted ourselves,r1; said starter Aaron Nola, who picked up the win Wednesday in a 4-1 victory over Baltimore. r0;Other people thought we were in a rebuilding year this year. We got good additions to the team.
r0;We have veteran guys who have been on winning teams and won championships. They know what it takes to win, and I think wer17;re following them.r1;
The Pirates (40-46), meanwhile Authentic Jonathan Toews Jersey , sit at a season-low six games below .500 and are in danger of being caught by last-place Cincinnati in the NL Central. They are opening an 11-game homestand leading into the All-Star break.
Pittsburgh is coming off a 2-4 West Coast trip, the final three games of which it was swept in Los Angeles by a combined score of 31-8. The Dodgers had 10 homers among 41 hits in those games.
r0;I think we definitely could have played better, but we also ran into a really hot team too,r1; Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer told MLB.com. r0;In the whole grand scheme of things, we havenr17;t played very well and wer17;re six games under .500 right now. Things could be a lot worse.
r0;Thatr17;s one of the bright spots that you can look at. r30; We need to put four or five games in a row, and win four or five good games in a row Jake Allen Jersey , then see what happens after that.r1;
The Phillies qualify as another hot team. They also swept a four-game series against the Pirates in April.
r0;Wer17;ve just got to keep working,r1; Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. r0;The game shows you where you need to improve. It gives you immediate feedback. We got a lot of immediate feedback.r1;
Two Pittsburgh starters, Chad Kuhl and Joe Musgrove, were hurt during the road trip.
On Friday, Pirates right-hander Trevor Williams (6-6, 4.22 ERA) is scheduled to start against Philadelphia righty Nick Pivetta (5-7 Tomas Hertl Jersey , 4.66).
Williams has lost two straight starts since a June 18 win when he pitched seven scoreless, one-hit innings in a 1-0 game against Milwaukee. That was his first victory in more than a month.
He is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two career starts against the Phillies, including a no-decision April 22 when he gave up two runs in six innings of an 11-inning Pirates loss.
Pivettar17;s last outing wasnr17;t a start. He came in to pitch a scoreless 13th inning Sunday when the Phillies had to go deep into their pitching staff in a 4-3 win over Washington. It was his first relief appearance since 2015 when he was in Class A.
Pivetta has one no-decision in his career against Pittsburgh.
The Arizona Diamondbacks hoped to have A.J. Pollock back before the All-Star break. The center fielderr17;s thumb was in good shape, but he wanted to get his legs under him before returning.
Pollock came back earlier than expected, coming off the 10-day disabled list on Monday and putting a key bat back in Arizonar17;s lineup as it tries to hold onto the NL West lead.
Pollock was slated to hit fourth against St. Louis in his first game back since breaking his left thumb while diving for a ball in the outfield against Milwaukee on May 14.
r1;Ir17;m thankful that the guys here trusted me and allowed me to play a couple games and get back,r1; Pollock said.
Pollock got off to a strong start this season Drew Stafford Jersey , hitting.293 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs in 40 games before the injury. Arizonar17;s division lead, once at six games with Pollock in the lineup, was down to 2 1/2 over the Los Angeles Dodgers after a three-game sweep by the San Francisco Giants over the weekend.
Arizona also purchased the contract of right-hander Joey Krehbiel from Triple-A Reno and released right-hander Troy Scribner. Right-hander Silvino Bracho and utilityman Christian Walker were optioned to Reno.
The 25-year-old Krehbiel went 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 29 games with the Aces. He is looking for his big league debut.
Bracho went 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA in five stints with the Diamondbacks this season.
Walker hit .208 with a homer and two RBIs over four stints with Arizona.
