On Thursday, July 1st, the Philadelphia Phillies will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Phillies and Pirates played a 2 game series earlier this year, with each team winning once. In the 1970′s, the Pirates/Phillies rivalry was extremely heated. Since then, the rivalry has really died down. However, this is still an in-state rivalry and still means a lot to both the players and fans.
Last year, the Phillies and the Pirates played each other 6 times, with the Phillies taking 4 out of the 6. Despite the fact that the Pirates are last in their division, they will be playing this series with revenge on their minds. In baseball, a team looking for revenge can be a very dangerous thing, regardless of the opponent’s record.
This season, Philadelphia is not really spectacular in any part of their game, but they are solid. They are 13th in pitching ERA and 11th in home runs. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is 29th in ERA and 28th in home runs. However, the Pirates did manage to take a game from the Phillies in their first 2010 series, which has to boost their confidence.
The only guarantee when two in-state rivals play each other is that the game will be entertaining. MLB previews suggests the match will be an interesting one. Typically, both teams show up ready to play and to put it all on the line. While Pittsburgh is not having a good season, they are playing to represent their city and to get revenge for last year.
