Lineup, Notes

RHP Jeff Karstens (2-2, 3.94) takes on LHP Jeff Francis (2-2, 5.19) tonight. After having their staff ravaged by injury, the Rox went to a four man rotation, with each guy on a pitch count of 75.  Francis has pitched to a 3.45 ERA in his past six starts, and likes to get ahead in the count and have batters chase his hook, making Pittsburgh a perfect foil. After knocking off a little rust, JK has been strong in his last couple of outings. The game starts at 8:40 and will aired on Root Sports.

The lineup: Alex Presley LF, Josh Harrison RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Casey McGehee 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Rod Barajas, Clint Barmes SS, Jeff Karstens P.

Garrett gets a day off against a lefty, although Presley and Pedro don't. Harrison gets the start in right while The King takes Drew Sutton's spot.

• Cutch was named NL Player of the Week (7/13-15). He batted .583 w/3 HR, 4 RBI & 3 runs. McCutchen is the last Bucco since Jason Bay in 2006 to win the award in back-to-back weeks
• Alex Presley went 4-for-8 with two runs scored two games during his rehab assignment with Indy. Presley was recalled today, and Matt Hague was sent down..
• ESPN's "Triple Play" discusses the Bucco playoff chances, Upton, and the deadline.
• The Bucs go into tonight's game 1 game behind the Reds in the NL Central race and tied with Atlanta for the wild card lead.
• Jerry Crasnick of ESPN just found out that Neil Walker is a local guy. 
• Starling Marte is featured at Baseball America ("One Step Away") behind a subscriber wall.
• Marc Hulet of Fangraphs has an Updated Top Fifty Prospects list. RHP Jameson Tallion is #5, RHP Gerritt Cole is #10, and SS Alen Hanson is #41.
• Per Jim Callis of Baseball America: This year's draft generated about $208M in bonuses. Last year's class, a deeper and more talented group, generated $236M in spending. Overall, the first seven picks of the draft cost $18M less than in 2011, so the rest of the 1,231 picks saved the MLB owners $10M. All that sweat, blood and tears saved each owner less than $1M. We don't think that's going to help much when free agency rolls around.
• This day in history: In 1970, on exactly the same spot as old Exposition Park, the home of the Pirates from 1891-1909, Three Rivers Stadium made its debut. Cincinnati first baseman Tony Perez hit the park's first home run as the Bucs lost to the Reds 3-2. Richie Hebner scored the first run in the stadium’s history when Al Oliver doubled him home in the first inning for, of course, the first RBI. Dock Ellis started and took the loss.