Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Cole v Rusin

Gerrit Cole (9-7, 3.23 ERA) and Chris Rusin (2-5, 3.52) get it on tonight as the Bucs head toward the regular season finish line.Cole, who will face the Cubs for the second time in 11 days, tossed seven innings against them in a 2-1 victory September 14th at PNC Park, then dazzled San Diego five days later.

Young lefty Rusin has pitched well for the Cubbies, although he ran into problems in his last outing against the Brewers, when he surrendered an first inning grand slam. In his only start against the Bucs, on September 12th, he was sharp over seven innings, holding Pittsburgh to a pair of runs.

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

Pirate lineup: Starling Marte LF, Jordy Mercer SS, Andrew McCutchen CF, Marlon Byrd RF, Gaby Sanchez 1b, Russ Martin C, Pedro Alvarez 3b, Josh Harrison 2b and Gerrit Cole P.

Pretty typical LHP lineup, especially now that Marte appears to healthy and Clint figured out that Justin Morneau doesn't hit lefties.

Cub lineup: Starlin Castro SS, Junior Lake LF, Anthony Rizzo 1b, Dioner Navarro C, Nate Schierholtz RF, Donnie Murphy 3b, Brian Bogusevic CF, Logan Watkins 2b and Chris Rusin P.

  • Jason Grilli's save last night gave the Pirates 53 in 2013, a club record since saves became an official statistic in 1969. The previous saves high was 52 by the 1979 Buccos, led by Teke.
  • David Schoenield of ESPN's The Sweet Spot sees trouble ahead for the Buccos because "the offense is struggling, and the ninth inning is suddenly a question mark." 
  • Dave Cameron of Fangraphs examines the concepts that built the Bucs.
  • ESPN Stats & Info: 435 different players suited up in the black and gold for the Pirates since their last postseason berth in 1992.
  • The Cards, Reds and Pirates are all guaranteed NL playoff spots; the next five games will be spent jockeying for position.
  • OF Austin Meadows and C Reese McGuire were named Baseball America's top two prospects from this year's GCL class.

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