Miami Marlins (34-35, fourth in the NL East) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (35-34, third in the NL Central)Pittsburgh; Friday, 6:40 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Sandy Alcantara (5-4, 4.33 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 64 strikeouts); Pirates: Braxton Ashcraft (5-3, 3.28 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 86 strikeouts)LINE: Pirates -153, Marlins +127; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Miami Marlins seek to prolong a five-game win streak with a victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates.Pittsburgh is 19-17 in home games and 35-34 overall. Pirates hitters are batting a collective .254, which ranks fourth in the NL.Miami has a 34-35 record overall and an 11-19 record on the road. The Marlins have the ninth-best team on-base percentage in MLB play at .323.The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Brandon Lowe has 16 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs and 45 RBIs for the Pirates. Spencer Horwitz is 13 for 43 with a double, three home runs and five RBIs over the past 10 games.
Otto Lopez leads the Marlins with a .344 batting average, and has 18 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 10 walks and 30 RBIs. Heriberto Hernandez is 10 for 31 with three home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games.
