ScoresandStats.com Latest Sports Previews

It’s been a tough ride for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the road doesn’t get any easier as they open a three-game set on Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. Sitting at just 12-23 on the season, Pittsburgh finds itself in last place in the NL Central and with the third-worst record in the majors. The offense has been the biggest issue, ranking bottom three in nearly every key metric — including runs scored (114), home runs (25), and OPS (.641). And if that’s not enough, they’ve been shut out a league-high six times, including a 4-0 loss to the Padres on Sunday — their fourth straight defeat and seventh loss in eight games. Keep tabs on all team trends

The surprise story of the American League West this season? Look no further than the Oakland Athletics. With a winning record 35 games into the season and a recent move to West Sacramento energizing the franchise, the A’s are writing a fresh chapter — and it continues Monday night against the first-place Seattle Mariners. The two teams split a four-game set to open the year, but a lot has changed since. Oakland’s young core has caught fire, winning nine of their last 12 games, while Seattle just had a six-game win streak snapped in a lopsided 8-1 loss to Texas. Heading into this three-game series, the Mariners still lead the division, but the A’s are just two games behind, riding

The San Diego Padres may boast the best pitching staff in baseball, but they’ll need to prove it in one of MLB’s most hitter-friendly parks when they begin a high-stakes road series against the New York Yankees on Monday night. San Diego’s pitching has been elite at Petco Park, but on the road, the Padres have been far more vulnerable. Despite leading the majors with a 2.75 ERA, their away mark climbs to 4.15 — a figure they’ll need to tighten against a Yankees squad that’s crushed 37 of their 57 homers at home. The Padres are hoping to ride the momentum of a three-game sweep over the Pirates, in which they allowed only five runs, struck out 22, and

The Washington Nationals return to Nationals Park with a solid road trip behind them, but their next test will be a tough one as they host the red-hot Cleveland Guardians in a three-game series starting Monday night. Washington (15-19) is trending in the right direction, winning four of its last six games to close out a .500 road trip. But they’ll need a strong bounce-back effort from right-hander Jake Irvin, who is coming off his roughest start of the season. Against Philadelphia, Irvin surrendered six runs on eight hits across six innings. Still, Irvin holds a 2-1 record with a 4.01 ERA and beat Cleveland in his only prior appearance, allowing two runs over six innings. On the other side,