Can the Preakness venue save a downtrodden Baltimore neighborhood

Pittsburgh Pirates (14-17, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Oakland Athletics (14-17, third in the AL West) Oakland, California; Wednesday, 3:37 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Quinn Priester (0-1, 3.48 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, eight strikeouts); Athletics: Ross Stripling (0-5, 4.98 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 25 strikeouts) : LINE Pirates -119, Athletics -101; over/under is 8 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates will aim to end a three-game road losing streak when they play the Oakland Athletics. Oakland has gone 6-9 in home games and 14-17 overall. The Athletics rank seventh in the majors with 35 total home runs, averaging 1.1 per game. Pittsburgh has a 9-10 record in road games and a 14-17 record overall. The Pirates have a 14-3 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents. The teams match up Wednesday for the third time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: JJ Bleday has three home runs, nine walks and nine RBI while hitting .243 for the Athletics. Tyler Nevin is 12-for-36 with a double, three home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games. Ke'Bryan Hayes has six doubles, a home run and 10 RBI for the Pirates. Connor Joe is 10-for-31 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Athletics: 6-4, .208 batting average, 3.72 ERA, outscored by three runs Pirates: 3-7, .208 batting average, 3.21 ERA, outscored by 15 runs INJURIES: Athletics: Zachary Gelof: 10-Day IL (abdominal), J.D. Davis: 10-Day IL (groin), Luis Medina: 60-Day IL (knee), Sean Newcomb: 60-Day IL (knee), Aledmys Diaz: 60-Day IL (calf), Miguel Andujar: 10-Day IL (knee), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Freddy Tarnok: 15-Day IL (hip), Scott Alexander: 15-Day IL (rib), Trevor Gott: 60-Day IL (elbow) Pirates: Marco Gonzales: 15-Day IL (forearm), Ryan Borucki: 15-Day IL (left triceps inflammation), Jason Delay: 10-Day IL (knee), Yasmani Grandal: 10-Day IL (foot), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow) ------ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.