Monday, September 9, 2013

Cole v Darvish

Gerrit Cole (6-7, 3.74) goes against Yu Darvish (12-7, 2.91) tonight to open the Texas series. It's a tall order for the rookie, but he has drawn top guns before and keep the team in the game. Darvish, the MLB strikeout leader, has gone 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in his last four starts, so maybe the September grind is working on him. Cole hasn't tossed against the Rangers nor Darvish against the Bucs, so there's no history.

The game starts at 8:05 and will be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Pirate lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Justin Morneau 1B, Marlon Byrd RF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Russ Martin C, Garrett Jones DH and Clint Barmes SS. (Gerrit Cole, P)

Jones goes from second to eighth in the order.

Ranger lineup: Ian Kinsler 2B, Elvis Andrus SS, Alex Rios RF, Adrian Beltre 3B, AJ Pierzynski DH, Mitch Moreland 1B, Geovany Soto C, Jim Adduci LF and Leonys Martin CF. (Yu Darvish P)

You get to compare Alex Rios and Marlon Byrd on the same field.

  • The Reds swept the Dodgers; they're tied with Pittsburgh for second place, 1-1/2 games behind St. Louis. The Pirates have lost four in a row, tied for their season high.
  • The Bucs have gone 2-10 all-time against the Rangers and are winless in six games in Texas. On the other hand, The Pirates have gone 6-1 in seven interleague games on the road this season.
  • This trip is a homecoming of sorts for Clint Hurdle. He was the Rangers' hitting coach in 2010 before being hired for the 2011 Pittsburgh manager's gig.
  • Wandy Rodriguez is going to throw a 70 pitch sim game Thursday, and Charlie Morton is slated to throw a side session Wednesday, so apparently his injury is minor.
  • Jamestown lost last night; there are no Pirate minor league teams remaining in the playoffs.
  • In seven games for the Twins, Alex Presley is hitting .387 with a .441 OBP, a homer, five RBI and a 170 OPS+. In the same # of games, Justin Morneau is hitting .261/.393 with a 102 OPS+ and no homers or RBI. No sample size, of course; we'll see what the lines look like come October.

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