The Pittsburgh Pirates were on their way to a magical season last year before falling apart at the end and through the first week in 2013 the team has played solid and they hope to continue that stream on Wednesday against the Diamondbacks in Arizona at Chase Field.
The Pirates have won two games in a row against Arizona and has the chance to pull a sweep in Phoenix for the first time ever. The team will be throwing Jonathan Sanchez after their 5-3 win on Monday and he will face off against Wade Miley, who has one win this season already. James McDonald made it through five innings on Tuesday and won 6-5 to put themselves in position for the sweep and the team is looking for momentum early in the year.
The last time the team swept the Diamondbacks was in 2010 at home and Sanchez has had one start against the team in the last year, losing 6-3 last July with the Giants. Miguel Montero has been hot for Arizona, driving in three runs in yesterday's game and he is hitting over .500 in the series.
The Pirates are 3-5 in the NL Central this season and are ranked 29th in the league in runs while sitting 30th in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. The Diamondbacks are 5-3 this season and are ranks seventh in the league with 45 runs and ninth in batting average. The team is 12th in on base percentage and eighth in slugging with .444 percent.