PITTSBURGH -- After a week of intrasquad games, the Pirates will finally take the field against another opponent on Saturday at PNC Park.
On Monday, Pittsburgh announced a three-game exhibition series with Cleveland that will help both clubs prepare for Opening Day on July 24. The Pirates will host the first game on Saturday, visit Progressive Field on July 20 and return to Pittsburgh for the third game on July 22.
All three games are scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. ET. They will air locally on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, KDKA-FM and the Pirates Radio Network. The Pirates will start their 60-game regular season on July 24 against the Cardinals in St. Louis.
Manager Derek Shelton credited general manager Ben Cherington and Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti for putting together the three-game exhibition series. Shelton believes the change of scenery will be as good for the coaching staff as it is for the players.
“Once we get into a real game, we’ll be thinking about situations that are going to happen when we play St. Louis, Chicago or Milwaukee. We need those kind of opportunities,” Shelton said. “We can simulate them here, but it’s our own guys. Once we get into a real game setting, there are going to be things that pop up that I guarantee you we didn’t think about. [Bench coach Don Kelly] and I have gone through our notes from all the [spring] games and tried to simulate things we think we need to do. But there are going to be situations in these games that we have not thought about, and it gives us practice on it.”
During this abbreviated Summer Camp, clubs are permitted to play up to three exhibition games against other teams. The Pirates elected to play the maximum number of preseason games, capitalizing on the opportunity to compete against a nearby opponent rather than relying solely on intrasquad games.
“I think it’ll be really good being able to face another team. It’ll be treating it more like an actual Spring Training instead of playing intrasquads,” right-hander JT Brubaker said. “We’re getting toward the middle-end where camps are going to break. I think it puts the routine of getting ready for the new season back into play.”
The Pirates are scheduled to play two series against Cleveland this season, hosting the Tribe for three games at PNC Park on Aug. 18-20 and wrapping up the regular season with a three-game series at Progressive Field from Sept. 25-27. The Rust Belt rivals are also scheduled to meet at PNC Park next year (June 18-20, 2021) when the National League Central and American League Central once again face off in Interleague Play.
“It will be good just to compete against other teams,” infielder Colin Moran said. “Obviously it’s fun playing your own pitchers, and hitting off your own pitchers is good for bragging rights and all that stuff. It will be good to lock in against a real opponent.”
Cleveland last visited Pittsburgh in 2015, when the Pirates won two games in a three-game set from July 3-5. The Bucs played at Progressive Field two years ago, winning two of three as they memorably extended their pre-Trade Deadline winning streak to 11 games.
Saturday will be the first exhibition game played at PNC Park since March 31-April 1, 2001, when the Pirates hosted the Mets before the official opening of PNC Park on April 9, 2001.