Sunday, September 11, 2016

Sunday: Ryan Vogelsong v Brandon Finnegan, Lineup, Notes

Today: The final match is a Sunday matinee beginning at 1:35, carried by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan. The kid day activities and a Gregory Polanco figurine giveaway are today's cherry on top.

Pitchers: Ryan Vogelsong (3-4, 4.07) closes the set against Brandon Finnegan (8-10, 4.17) looking to split the series. Vogey has been in a slide recently with iffy command and location, and is likely on a pretty short leash today. He hasn't started against the Reds this season, though he has a couple of relief showings. Finnegan has been strong in his last four outings, tho he will surrender a long fly or two, the Achilles Heel of the Reds staff. He hasn't faced the Buccos yet this year.

V-Song looking for some consistency today (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Lineup: Jordy SS, J-Bell RF, Cutch CF, Jung Ho Kang 3B, David Freese 1B, Gregory Polanco LF, S-Rod 2B, Stew C, V-Song P.  J-Hay and Starling are both out with injuries while Fran gets his day of rest. If the Bucs are to get out of their funk, it'll be with the getaway day boys.

  • Pittsburgh has lost 10-of-12. Other random numbers from Baseball Reference: the club is 69-71, 7-7 v the Reds, and 36-37 at PNC Park. They're 19-20 in one-run decisions and 17-18 in five run+ blowouts.
  • Though we often bemoan Bucco liners that find leather, the Pirates .311 BABIP is the third highest in MLB, tied with Detroit and behind just Miami (.317) and Arizona (.315). The squad's .331 OBP is fourth in the majors. For all that, they're only 18th in runs produced, per Fangraphs.
  • The pitching has been middle-of-the-pack, with a 4.17 ERA, which is an honest indicator this year, just slightly under the team FIP (4.36), xFIP (4.34) and SIERA (4.33) metrics. But the K-Rate of 19.1% is just 25th in the league and the walk rate of 8.5% is 20th, per Fangraphs.

No comments: