Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Bucs v Phils: Wandy and the Doc

Wandy Rodriguez and Roy Halladay mix it up tonight. Wandy has leapt out of the gates in his three starts, going 2-0/0.56, while Doc has a surprisingly poor line of 2-2/6.04. Rodriguez has been working quickly and throwing strikes, as his 11-1 whiff-to-walk ratio will attest. Hallady had a dismal first couple of outings, but he's been the same ol' Doc in his last couple of starts, pitching to a 1.80 ERA and opp BA of .143.

The Buc lefty is 2-2/5.11 against the Phils lifetime while Halladay is 4-1/0.98 versus the Bucs, aye carumba! The game starts at 7:05 at Citizens Bank Park and will be aired by Root Sports and The Fan 93.7. (And they will play; the forecast in Philly is for cloudy but dry weather, unlike here.)

Pirate lineup: Starling Marte LF, Travis Snider LF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Garrett Jones 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Russell Martin C, John McDonald SS and Wandy Rodriguez P.

John McDonald gets a start for Clint Barmes; otherwise, it's the everyday lineup against a RHP.

Phil lineup: Jimmy Rollins SS, Chase Utley 2B, Michael Young 3B, Ryan Howard 1B, John Mayberry RF, Domonic Brown LF, Ben Revere CF, Humberto Quintero C and Roy Halladay P.

Quintero takes Erik Kratz's spot behind the dish. Carlos Ruiz, in case you forgot, was suspended for 25 games for testing positive for a banned substance. He's eligible to return Sunday and will join the minor league club this weekend to get back into game shape.

  • The Bucs have won 10 of 14, including four of their last five.
  • The beat goes on: The Pirates are 10-0 when leading after seven innings this season, as Melancon/Grilli look every bit as tight as 2012's Grilli/Hanny duet.
  • Altoona's Stolmy Pimentel shut out Richmond over six innings while striking out eight and giving up just three hits in a 6-2 win over Richmond today. OF Andrew Lambo continued to sizzle, going 2-for-4. He's now reached base in all 20 Curve games this year and has hit in 10 straight games.
  • JJ Cooper of Baseball America has a feature on Gerrit Cole and why he's better served pitching at Indy rather than in Pittsburgh right now.
  • Roman Colon, who the Bucs signed to a minor league deal in February but had yet to be assigned to a club, was traded to his first home, Atlanta. The big righty was signed by the Braves and got his first MLB shot with them in 2004-05.

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