Notes

RHP Charlie Morton (9-10, 3.81) take the hill against RHP Daniel Hudson (16-10, 3.39). the game starts at 9:40 PM and will be shown on Root Sports.

The Lineup: Alex Presley LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Derrek Lee 1B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ronny Cedeno SS, Charlie Morton P.

Whatever happened to Xavier Paul and Brandon Wood?

• For the fans of the Piratefest and Pirate caravan, get ready for an earlier start. They'll go off in mid-December this year, both to give the participating players more of an off-season break and to try to tap into some pre-Xmas sales. Makes sense on both fronts.
• Ben Badler of Baseball America listed the top rookie prospects in the Gulf Coast League. The Pirates had two of the top five picks and three of the top fifteen, with RHP Luis Heredia ranked #3, 1B/OF Jose Osuna #5, and IF Alen Hansen #14. It's good to see Rene Gayo's amigos doing well.
• Congrats to Mariano Rivera who set the all-time saves record yesterday with close-out #602. He also has 42 post-season saves, with 11 during the World Series and four in All-Star games. Since taking over the fireman job in 1997, he's had an 89% save rate. And there are only two teams he doesn't have a save against - the Yankees, of course, and the Pirates.