Pitching prowess on display as Pirates try to keep up with MLB's best in Detroit

The Pittsburgh Pirates are in the basement of the National League Central at 29-44. They just dropped three of four to the division-leading Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field over the weekend.

All four contests were one-run games settled by final scores of 3-2 or 2-1. Two of those results went 10 innings.

Now the Bucs have to take on the best team in Major League Baseball for three games starting Tuesday.

Don Kelly’s club is in Detroit for a three-game series against the American League Central-leading Tigers. Detroit’s 46-27 record is the best in baseball. They have a nine-game lead on the Minnesota Twins. That is the largest cushion for any first-place team in MLB.

While it would appear to be a mismatch of a series on paper, solid pitching should be on display for both teams.

Tuesday’s opener features Bailey Falter versus Detroit’s Casey Mize. Since May 1, Falter has started eight times for the Pirates. They are 6-2 in those games. The lefty is 4-0 with a 1.61 ERA in that time. In seven of those starts, Falter has allowed no more than two earned runs.

Bailey Falter’s 0.76 ERA in May was the lowest by a Pirates pitcher with at least six starts in a calendar month during the Live-Ball Era (since 1920). pic.twitter.com/eAkR7ddPIi

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 1, 2025

Meanwhile, Mize is 6-2 with a 2.95 ERA for the Tigers.

On Wednesday, the Pirates have to face reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. He is 7-2 with a 1.99 ERA and 111 strikeouts. That’s the third-highest total in Major League Baseball.

Ladies and gentlemen, TARIK SKUBAL ????

His last 4 starts:
30.2 IP
1 ER
0.29 ERA
32/2 K/BB pic.twitter.com/RcJQbPhRFc

— MLB (@MLB) June 13, 2025

Skubal will be opposed by Pittsburgh’s Andrew Heaney, who is 3-5 with a 3.33 ERA.

Then Paul Skenes pitches Thursday for the Pirates. The 22-year-old phenom has the second-lowest ERA in Major League Baseball at 1.78. He has been particularly sharp on the road, posting 50⅓ innings with only six earned runs against him (1.07 ERA).

Paul Skenes is in the midst of a historic start to an MLB career pic.twitter.com/U1mJrqUf2a

— OldTimeHardball (@OleTimeHardball) June 14, 2025

Thursday is also a day game (1:10 p.m. first pitch). Skenes has a 1.39 ERA in afternoon starts, with opposing hitters batting just .167.

Keider Montero will oppose Skenes. He is 3-1 with a 4.24 ERA. The Tigers’ overall team ERA of 3.35 is fourth-best in MLB. The Pirates’ starting staff has an ERA of 3.51, which is the sixth-best in MLB.

One major difference between the teams is that the Tigers don’t have issues scoring runs like the Pirates do. Detroit has plated 351 runs, sixth-most in MLB. The Pirates have only scored 232 times, last in the league. The Boston Red Sox (646) and Athletics (642) are the only American League teams with more hits than the Tigers (622). The Pirates have just 541, 25th in MLB.

The Pirates are awful on the road. They are 10-25 away from PNC Park this year. Only the Chicago White Sox (7) and Colorado Rockies (8) have fewer road victories. Meanwhile, the Houston Astros are the only club with more home wins in the American League than the Tigers. Houston has 27. Detroit and the Tampa Bay Rays are next with 24 apiece.