Lineup: Josh Harrison 2B, Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte CF, J-Bell 1B, David Freese 3B, Corey Dickerson LF, Jordy Mercer C, Elias Diaz C & Cool Chad P. Polanco stays up top and Corey-D stays in the lineup against lefty Peters because in his short major league stay, he's shown a reverse-split; lefties hit .406 (in only 38 PA) against him.
Pitchers: RHP Chad Kuhl (1-0/5.06) will duel with LHP Dillon Peters (1-1/9.35). Chad hasn't gotten through the sixth inning yet; he needs to start off with some strikes. His last outing against the Reds was solid, but only lasted five frames after 98 pitches. Kuhl is 0-1/3.60 against the Fish in two starts. Last year, he only lasted four IP in his Miami outing, allowing eight runners and three runs (two earned). Dillon won his spot after a September audition and strong camp. The Phillies rattled him around in his first start (they hit two grand slams), but he threw six zeroes against the Cubs in his last outing. He's a fastball/curve guy who gets mixed results depending on his command. This is his first tussle with Pittsburgh.
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| Kyle Crick joins the club (photo Pittsburgh Pirates) |
- The Pirates have brought up RHP Kyle Crick and RHP Richard RodrÃguez from AAA Indy. RHP Clay Holmes and LHP Josh Smoker have been optioned down. Took long enough. There are no 40-man moves involved; Rodriguez was added to the roster, but the Bucs had a couple of open slots.
- The Pirates are 9-3 this season, their best start through 12 games since starting 10-2 in 1992 per @ESPNStatsInfo. Meanwhile, the Marlins are 3-9 and have lost 7-of-8. Time to fatten up or are the Fish due to spring some hidden vigorish? Stay tuned; after all, it is Friday the 13th.
- The Bucs and Cubs, through Clint & Joe Maddon, traded some barbs. We like it.
- Jay Jaffe of Fangraphs looks at the Bucs hot start and specifically at Gregory.
- Mark The Shark had a stem cell injection in his forearm, which was operated on last year. It will be two weeks before he can pick up a ball again.
2 comments:
Too bad about Melancon, a guy who has already endured Tommy John surgery once in his career. Maybe the stem cells will help, and he can go on to a strong finish to his major league tenure. Doesn't look good for him at this point.
Speaking of which, this front office definitely makes some bonehead decisions, but it makes some good ones, too. Dealing Melancon rather than going all in on a big contract was one of the best decisions the brass has made in recent seasons.
Yep, u hate to see guys in that predicament. The Shark is just 32, and he wasn't particularly overused; he never worked more than 76-77 IP in a season. Does make u wonder, tho - relievers usually have a long shelf life; the last few Pirates (Capps, Hanny, The Shark) all broke down fairly young. The club does seem to evaluate closers pretty well, fortunately.
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