The set-up: San Diego rookie Dinelson Lamet surrendered two runs on two hits in San Diego last weekend in beating the Pirates 4-2. He was sharp again on the other side of the country last night in Pittsburgh, striking out five against three walks and allowing just one hit over 5 2/3 innings in a 5-2 victory over the Pirates.The 49-60 Padres are just playing to get better from now until the end of the season while the Pirates have grander designs, as they are still within striking distance in the NL Central, lurking 5 1/2 games out in the division. However, Pittsburgh's penchant for struggling against losing teams, is hurting its chances. The Pirates are now 3-7 in their last 10 games, all against teams at least 10 games under .500! The rubber match of this three-game series goes Sunday.

The pitching matchup: Clayton Richard (5-12 & 5.40 ERA) will start for San Diego and Jameson Taillon (6-5 & 4.74 ERA) for Pittsburgh. Richard is a 33-year-old veteran lefty who comes in off four consecutive losses, having allowed 23 ERs over 23 1/3 innings of his last four starts (8.87 ERA). His last win came back on June 13 and the Padres have gone 1-7 over his last eight starts. However, Richard owns a 2.86 ERA in nine career starts against the Pirates. Taillon has been rocked in his last two starts, allowing 17 ERs in 6 2/3 innings, as his ERA has swelled from 3.04 to 4.74! In his only career start against the Padres, Taillon pitched eight scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory back in 2016.

The pick: The Pirtaes clearly need to stop losing against bad teams and winning here to take the series from the Padres is a must if the team has any hope of staying close in the NL Central. Taillon's a tough kid and overcoming a pair of tough outings is nothing for a guy who lost two complete minor league seasons to injury and underwent testicular cancer surgery early in May. Make the Pirates an 8* play.