Pirates vs Braves Preview: Skenes, Strider Spark Saturday Showdown

The Braves are rolling into Saturday with serious momentum. They're sitting at 43-21 and just beat the Pirates 6-3 yesterday. Now comes Spencer Strider, one of baseball's most electric pitchers. His fastball is lightning. His strikeouts pile up fast. After dealing with injuries before, Strider is back to proving why he's one of the league's most dominant arms. The Pirates better bring their best bats. This guy doesn't give hitters much to work with.

Pittsburgh is 34-30 and just dropped their last game. They're coming to Truist Park where the Braves play tough at home. The Pirates will send Braxton Ashcraft to the mound. He's got his hands full facing one of baseball's best lineups. The Braves' hitters are swinging hot. Michael Harris II just went 3-for-5 yesterday with three RBIs. Dubón doubled and scored too. If the Pirates want to steal this one, they need their pitching to shut down Atlanta's bats early.

The Braves already beat Pittsburgh once this series. That 6-3 win shows Atlanta's bats are connected right now. Dubón's two-run homer in the third tied it up. Then Riley, Harris II, and company kept adding runs. The Pirates have talent with guys like Paul Skenes leading their staff. But they need wins like these to climb back into the race. Saturday's matchup will tell us a lot about who's for real in June.