Lineup, Notes, News - J-Hay & Brock Up The Middle

RHP James McDonald (12-6, 3.57) gets the call against Brewers RHP Yovani Gallardo (14-8, 3.52). Gallardo has won his last six starts, pitching at least seven innings in each contest and allowing more than one run only twice in that span. J-Mick will need a repeat of his last outing, when he threw seven scoreless innings against the Cards on Tuesday, to prevent a brooming. The first pitch is at 2:20 and be shown by Root Sports.

The lineup: Brock Holt 2B, Jose Tabata LF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Garrett Jones RF, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Mike McKenry C, Josh Harrison SS, James McDonald P.

Holt gets his first MLB start, and J-Hay is his middle infield partner. The times, they are a'changing. Jordy Mercer sure got left in the dust in a hurry.

The Pirates return to Pittsburgh for the start of a six-game homestand against the Astros and Cubs after today's game, with a 1:15 holiday match against Houston as the kickoff.

• Neil Walker still hasn't begun any baseball activities, fielding or hitting, yet. Starling Marte has recovered enough that he may be ready to begin a rehab stint by mid-week. Chad Qualls is reporting for his rehab assignment at Indy according to the Trib's Rob Biertempfel, even though his DL date was August 25th, meaning he shouldn't be eligible for a few more days.
• A victory by James McDonald today would give the Pirates two 13-game winners for the first time since 1999 when Todd Ritchie went 15-9 and Jason Schmidt went 13-11.
• Don't expect any more call-ups now until after Indy's post-season run. The International League playoffs are a pair of best-of-five sets beginning Wednesday, and could last until September 15th.
• C Ramon Cabrera was promoted to Indy from Altoona and C Jacob Stallings was sent to the Curve from State College, per Kristy Robinson of Pirate Prospects.