Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Wednesday: Jeff Locke v Chase Anderson, Lineup, Notes

Tonight: The first pitch is slated for 7:05 and will be carried by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan. It's also Faith Night, where the fans can mingle with the players after the game and share faith-based experiences.

Pitchers: Jeff Locke (8-5, 5.26) takes on Chase Anderson (4-10, 5.44) in the middle game of the series. Jeff's won three in a row, but his last appearance was out of the pen. He hasn't started a game in two weeks after a couple of pedestrian performances. Anderson is 0-4 with a 9.61 ERA in his past five outings, none of them quality starts, and he is averaging just five innings per appearance. Chase also has control issues the past two outings (10 BB, 175 pitches in 8-1/3 IP), so he seems like the kinda guy that a patient approach will wear down. He's 0-1 with a 5.65 ERA in three career starts against Pittsburgh, all coming as a D-Back.

Jeff Locke gets the call tonight (photo Associated Press)

Lineup: Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte LF, Cutch CF, David Freese 1B, Fran C, Jung Ho Kang 3B, Josh 2B, Jordy SS, Locke P. Kinda odd lineup with El Coffee & Starling batting 1-2. JJ is on the pine with a righty on the hill again; maybe that .211 BA since June 1st/1-for-12 with five strikeouts since ASB has raised Clint's hackles a bit. And it's good to see Fran able to catch back-to-back days.

  • @pgammo (Peter Gammons) noted that "Pirates are 9-3 in Taillon, Kuhl, Brault, Glasnow starts. Quartet have 3.82 ERA, 39-12 K-BB. Development:A+."
  • The Pirates have taken 11-of-15 while the Brew Crew has lost 5-of-6. 
  • Elias Diaz came off the DL and was assigned to Indy after his rehab; no moves were needed for the 40-man roster because of Erik Kratz's DFA for Fran.
  • Ryan Vogelsong made a rehab start for Indy today. He went four IP, giving up two runs on four hits with two whiffs, tossing 60 pitches.
  • Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline notes 10 prospects who could help their clubs now. It's not too surprising that Tyler Glasnow and Josh Bell are on the list. 
  • Harold Ramirez has a 12 game hitting streak goin' on in Altoona.

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