If the A's and Pirates Combined Rosters, They'd Dominate Baseball

That type of run scoring is unheard of for the Pirates, who rank last in runs scored with 545, nearly 30 shy of the Colorado Rockies in 29th place. Still, the Pirates have managed to go 65-88, avoiding a Rockies or White Sox type year, thanks to their pitching staff.

Pittsburgh's pitching, like the A's offense, ranks No. 12 in ERA with a 3.87, which is right behind the Philadelphia Phillies (3.86) and less than a half-run from the best in baseball. The A's, thanks to a rough start to the season, rank 27th in baseball with a 4.72 ERA on the year.

Since the All Star break, the A's have the No. 5 offense in the game, holding a 117 wRC+, while their cumulative pitching has also been in that same realm, posting a 3.87 ERA funnily enough, which ranks No. 8. That's a big reason why the A's have gone 31-24 since the break and have been one of baseball's best teams in that stretch.

But if the A's had the Pirates pitching staff for the full year, they would certainly have a higher win total than the 72 they have now, and the same goes for the Pirates and if they had a trio of sluggers like Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers, and Nick Kurtz leading the way on offense.

If you take the A's 705 runs scored, and subtract the 626 that the Pirates have allowed, that combined club would have a +79 run differential, which would place them second in the NL West to the Dodgers (+123), well ahead of the New York Mets (+53), and in the same territory as division leaders Detroit (+87) and Toronto (+83).

This club would easily be in postseason contention, and with Paul Skenes heading up the rotation and Kurtz ready to do damage in the lineup, this would be one scary bunch to have to face in October.

With this being the case, one would expect this weekend's series to be a battle of the A's bats against the Pirates' pitching, but as we mentioned earlier, the A's ERA in the second half has been a whole lot better, which should give them a significant edge in this series. They also won't have to face Skenes, which is a definite plus.

The A's will be sending out Luis Severino (6-11, 4.82 ERA) on Friday, followed by Luis Morales (4-1, 3.08) on Saturday. Sunday's starter, as well as all three of Pittsburgh's probables have yet to be announced.