Scorecard and Stuff

-- James McDonald will go against Mike Leake at 1:10PM; the game will be shown on Root Sports. Leake, who was slated for Sunday, and Edison Valquez switched days against Pittsburgh; Valquez has a stiff neck, and we're sure yesterday's weather in Cincy couldn't have helped it.

-- The Pirate lineup: Andrew McCutchen CF, Jose Tabata LF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Ronny Cedeno SS, James McDonald P.

-- Jose Tabata has been the story so far this year, hitting .354 with an OBP of .475, sixth in the NL, and has twelve runs scored, fifth in the Senior Circuit. Don't overlook his maturation on the bases, either - he's 7-of-8 in stolen base tries; that number is good for second place in the NL swiped bases race. For as bad as the Jay Bay deal looks, the Nady/Marte trade ranks as one of the team's great steals.

-- And if he's not the story, then the Pirate pitching is. The team ERA is 3.23 and the WHIP, dangerously high a few days ago, is down to 1.297. The National League averages are 3.97 and 1.347.

-- The Pirates are still loose after their up-and-down start. Jen Langosch of MLB.com reported that a sign stuck above Andrew McCutchen’s locker read "McKKKKutchen" this morning after his 4-K night. He took it as intended.