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Boston Red Sox (65-56, third in the AL East) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (59-64, fifth in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Friday, 6:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Jake Bennett (7-5, 3.17 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 55 strikeouts); Pirates: Bubba Chandler (5-8, 4.26 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 103 strikeouts)
LINE: Red Sox -142, Pirates +119; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates host the Boston Red Sox to start a three-game series.
Pittsburgh is 59-64 overall and 30-30 at home. The Pirates have hit 149 total home runs to rank seventh in the NL.
Boston has a 36-25 record in road games and a 65-56 record overall. Red Sox hitters are batting a collective .248, the 10th-best team batting average in MLB play.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting this season between the two clubs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bryan Reynolds has 15 home runs, 74 walks and 63 RBIs while hitting .262 for the Pirates. Jake Mangum is 11 for 39 with four doubles, a triple, a home run and five RBIs over the last 10 games.
Ceddanne Rafaela has 28 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs and 63 RBIs while hitting .288 for the Red Sox. Caleb Durbin is 13 for 38 with two doubles and two home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 3-7, .233 batting average, 4.45 ERA, outscored by five runs
Red Sox: 5-5, .290 batting average, 2.87 ERA, outscored opponents by 26 runs
INJURIES: Pirates: Endy Rodriguez: 10-Day IL (hip), Oneil Cruz: 60-Day IL (hand), Mitch Keller: 60-Day IL (arm), Ryan O'Hearn: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Konnor Griffin: 60-Day IL (finger)
Red Sox: Garrett Whitlock: 15-Day IL (elbow), Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 60-Day IL (forearm), Kutter Crawford: 60-Day IL (wrist), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Curtis Mead: 10-Day IL (hand), Roman Anthony: 60-Day IL (wrist), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Garrett Crochet: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Trevor Story: 60-Day IL (abdomen), Zack Kelly: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tanner Houck: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
