Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter Pre-Game

Happy Easter/Passover to all. Here's the lineup:

Alex Presley LF, Jose Tabata RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Neil Walker 2B, Garrett Jones 1B, Clint Barmes SS, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Mike McKenry C and James McDonald P.

McKenry gets the call behind the plate; makes sense with a day-following-night game. Brian Schneider is giving Carlos Ruiz a blow today for the Phils, too. Presley has returned to the top of the order. J-Mac faces RHP Vance Worley, who was 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA last year, and is said to have added a change-up to his pitching arsenal. The game begins at 1:35.

  • In case you missed it, here's a vid of Alex Presley's sprint-off single last night.
  • The Pirates have had back-to-back sellouts of 38,885. it's the first time in club history that the opening two games have been played in front of a full house.
  • Jared Hughes and Evan Meek are the only two Bucco relievers that haven't pitched yet; Juan Cruz is the only guy who has appeared twice in the series. The pen hasn't allowed a run in six innings and collected eight Ks.
  • Nate McLouth isn't fazed by the Buccos challenging early schedule. He told Rob Biertempfel of the Trib that "... if I had to pick, I would rather get the tough part out of the way first. I've noticed that, a lot of times, good teams kind of turn it on a little bit later in the season." 
  • The Bucs traded non-roster LHP Brian Tallet to the Padres for cash/PTBNL, reports Corey Brock of MLB.com. He'll be assigned to San Diego's AAA Tucson club.
  • More on yesterday's minor league injuries: Jake Fox's injury is reported to be a strained oblique, which often requires considerable recovery time. Ryan Beckman's injury has been called elbow tightness.
  • Brandon Boggs had a big day for Indy, with a homer, triple and 2 RBI, Jordy Mercer collected four hits, and Jeff Clements & Eric Fryer had a pair of knocks in an 8-7 win over Toledo.

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