Pittsburgh Pirates (59-76, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Boston Red Sox (75-60, second in the AL East)

Boston; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Paul Skenes (8-9, 2.07 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 181 strikeouts); Red Sox: Payton Tolle (0-0)

BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox host the Pittsburgh Pirates to open a three-game series.

Boston is 75-60 overall and 41-25 in home games. The Red Sox have a 52-22 record in games when they record eight or more hits.

Pittsburgh has gone 20-46 in road games and 59-76 overall. The Pirates have gone 39-24 in games when they record at least eight hits.

The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jarren Duran has 13 home runs, 51 walks and 73 RBIs while hitting .258 for the Red Sox. Roman Anthony is

See Full Page