Athletics (72-81, fourth in the AL West) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (65-88, fifth in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Friday, 6:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Luis Severino (6-11, 4.82 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 116 strikeouts); Pirates: Mitch Keller (6-14, 4.13 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 140 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates aim to end their six-game home skid with a win against the Athletics.

Pittsburgh has a 42-36 record in home games and a 65-88 record overall. The Pirates have a 46-15 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.

The Athletics have a 72-81 record overall and a 39-39 record in road games. The Athletics have the fourth-best team batting average in MLB play at .255.

Friday’s game is the first time these teams match up this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Andrew McCutchen has 22 doubles, 13 home runs and 56 RBIs while hitting .239 for the Pirates. Nick Gonzales is 10 for 41 with two doubles and a triple over the past 10 games.

Brent Rooker has 40 doubles, three triples, 30 home runs and 87 RBIs for the Athletics. Carlos Cortes is 7 for 16 with two doubles, four home runs and seven RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 1-9, .180 batting average, 3.99 ERA, outscored by 20 runs

Athletics: 6-4, .254 batting average, 3.64 ERA, outscored opponents by one run

INJURIES: Pirates: Ronny Simon: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Enmanuel Valdez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Athletics: Ben Bowden: 60-Day IL (lat), Joey Estes: 15-Day IL (back), Jacob Lopez: 15-Day IL (flexor), Jack Perkins: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Austin Wynns: 60-Day IL (abdomen), Denzel Clarke: 10-Day IL (abductor), Max Muncy: 10-Day IL (hand), Grant Holman: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Gunnar Hoglund: 60-Day IL (hip), Jose Leclerc: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luis Medina: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.