-- Tonight's game is scheduled for 7:05 PM, with Paul Maholm and John Lannan facing off. The match will be radio only.
-- The lineup: Andrew McCutchen CF, Jose Tabata LF, Matt Diaz RF, Neil Walker 2B, Steve Pearce 1B, Brandon Wood 3B, Chris Snyder C, Ronny Cedeno SS, Paul Maholm P.
Pedro and Lyle Overbay get the night off against the lefty Lannan; Ronny Cedeno lives to fight another day as Wood gets his first Pirate start at third base.
And after Jerry Hairston threw two balls away yesterday, Brian Bixler gets his first Nat start since his call-up at the hot corner, too.
-- The are five Pirate alumni on the Nat's squad: Sean Burnett, Tom Gorzelanny, Brian Bixler, Adam LaRouche and Matt Stairs. The Bucs have one former Washington player on the active roster, Joel Hanrahan, one on the forty-man roster, Scott Olsen, and a player they signed from the National's organization, Aaron Thompson.
-- The Pirates have averaged 19,863 fans per game so far this season, which is in line with the attendance figures of the past four years. That ranks them 14th out of the 16 NL teams; the Bucs have finished either last or next to last in Senior Circuit attendance since 2004.
-- Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports has a piece on the ups and downs of seldom-mentioned prospect Jeff Clement, who is still rehabbing after knee surgery.
It's too bad Clement's knees couldn't hold up at catcher, because you can carry a low .200s guy who cranks a respectable amount of home runs---Clement's M.O.---at that position.
ReplyDeleteI still think the Pirates give him a look, Will, as a first baseman. He put together a couple of competent streaks at the dish and didn't look lost fielding the position. Someone has to baby-sit the bag until Rendon arrives and they finally make the corner switch with Pedro.
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