San Francisco @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 20, 2019 ) San Francisco 1, Pittsburgh 3

Shortstop Cole Tucker provided plenty of excitement for the home fans in his major-league debut and hopes to add more highlights when the Pittsburgh Pirates go for a three-game sweep of the visiting San Francisco Giants on Sunday. Tucker belted the go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning, just before a long rain delay, as the Pirates went on to earn a 3-1 victory in the weather-shortened contest Saturday.

Tucker, the 24th pick in the 2014 draft by Pittsburgh, was batting .333 with three homers in 13 games with Triple-A Indianapolis before being recalled when outfielder Starling Marte (abdominal, quadriceps) and infielder Erik Gonzalez (collarbone) went on the injured list after a violent collision Friday. The Pirates have won five straight games while allowing just 10 runs combined and Chris Archer will attempt to continue that success Sunday when he takes the mound against fellow right-hander Dereck Rodriguez. The Giants opened their eight-game road trip with a victory at Washington but have dropped four in a row since and managed just four runs in the past three after totaling four hits in Saturday’s setback. San Francisco center fielder Kevin Pillar had two singles in the loss but has just one RBI in the last six games after recording 12 in the previous six, and leads the team with 13 in 17 contests since arriving in a trade from Toronto.

TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco), AT&T SportsNet - Pittsburgh

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Dereck Rodriguez (2-2, 3.63 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Chris Archer (1-0, 2.00)

Rodriguez has allowed two or fewer runs in three of his first four starts this season, including Tuesday when he held Washington to one on five hits over five innings to earn the win. The 26-year-old Texan walked three in the outing after issuing just one free pass combined in his first three turns of 2019, although he did strike out a season-high six. Rodriguez, who has won both of his road games this year, beat Pittsburgh in 2018 with seven innings of one-run and two-hit ball.

Archer had a few extra days off due to a five-game suspension for his role in a brawl with Cincinnati and tries to make it four straight solid starts to open the season. The 30-year-old North Carolina native limited the Nationals to one run on four hits with nine strikeouts over seven frames at Washington on April 13 after permitting three runs across 11 innings in his first two starts. Brandon Belt is 4-for-5 with a homer versus Archer, who is 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA in two career starts against the Giants.

WALK-OFFS

1. San Francisco rookie OF Steven Duggar knocked in the only run Saturday and leads the team with 21 hits - 11 in his last nine games.

2. Pittsburgh OF Bryan Reynolds, who was acquired from the Giants in the Andrew McCutchen deal in 2018, also made his big-league debut Saturday and had a single.

3. The Giants are second-to-last in the National League in runs scored (64) and tied with the Pirates for the bottom spot in home runs (15).

PREDICTION: Pirates 5, Giants 2