Friday, May 27, 2011

Off To Chi-Town

-- Kevin Correia takes the hill at Wrigley against been-around-the-block lefty Doug Davis. The game starts at 2:20 PM and will be shown on Root Sports.

-- The lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Steve Pearce 3B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Neil Walker 2B, Matt Diaz RF, Chris Snyder C, Lyle Overbay 1B, Ronny Cedeno SS, Kevin Correia P.

It's the same lineup Clint Hurdle used against the Braves; expect to see JT leadoff, McCutch hitting third, and Steve Pearce/Brandon Wood platoon at third until Pedro's back.

-- This should be a big series for both clubs as far as relevancy in the NL Central is concerned. They share identical 22-26 records and are 6-1/2 games behind the Cards (five in the loss column). The two teams are perilously close to dropping into the second tier of the Central by Memorial Day as St. Louis, Milwaukee and Cincy try to separate from the pack.

-- John Bowker hit .235 off the bench; he was sent to Indy and replaced by Xavier Paul, who is hitting .231 and has 14 K's in 42 at-bats as a Pirate. We're curious if he feels the hot breath of Alex Presley (.323/.366/.484) breathing down his neck in the Pittsburgh quest for a competent bench OF'er?

-- Matt Pouliot of Hardball Times says the Giants are suddenly in the market for a catcher after Buster Posey broke his leg; he has a list of potential candidates, including Dewey.

-- The Pirates signed five Latino free agents: Nicaraguan RHP Adolfo Flores, Dominican RHP Juan Mendoza, Panamanian IF/OF Edgar Munoz and Venezuelan OFs Anthony Claudio and Keybel Escobar. None are considered top-tier prospects.

-- Maybe way-back-when Bucco retread Ryan Vogelsong did find the light after all these years. The Giant RHP suffered his first loss of the year, going eight innings in a 1-0 defeat. He's 3-1 with a 1.77 ERA after a half dozen starts.

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