Liriano v Burgos; Bucs Go For Series Cincher

Francisco Liriano (1-0, 1.69) will try to keep the good times rollin' against rookie Hiram Burgos (1-1, 6.86). The Cisco Kid had a good debut against the Mets -  one run in 5-1/3 innings on six hits, two walks and nine strikeouts. Burgos missed a turn after he allowed 12 runs (10 earned) in three innings at Cincinnati his last time on the hill. But he pitched pretty well against the Bucs on May 1st, going seven innings and giving up two runs on four hits at Miller.

The game starts at 7:05 and will be aired by Root Sports and The Fan 93.7.

Pirate lineup: Starling Marte LF, Travis Snider RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Garrett Jones 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Russell Martin C, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Clint Barmes SS and Francisco Liriano P. 

Clint Hurdle has regained his senses from yesterday and penciled in his usual RHP suspects. The only diff we see is Russell Martin and Pedro switching spots.

Brewer lineup: Norichika Aoki RF, Jean Segura SS, Ryan Braun LF, Jonathan Lucroy C, Carlos Gomez CF, Yuniesky Betancourt 3B, Rickie Weeks 2B, Alex Gonzalez 1B and Hiram Burgos P.

Can't figure out why Lucroy is cleanup at .217/3 HR, but then again, GW doesn't have to.

• Pittsburgh has taken three of the last four games from Milwaukee. 
• Jason Grilli has 16 saves and is tied with NY's Mariano Rivera for the MLB lead. Grilli is also tied for the lead in reliever WAR at 0.9; Mark Melancon is tied for sixth at 0.7. The one thing you have to give Neal Huntington is that he can put a pen together. Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs wrote today that "...Jason Grilli is completely dominant..." in his post featuring the Bucco righty.
• Reuters ran a piece picked up by the Chicago Tribune titled "Maybe Tabata Isn't A Bust..."
• The Brewers are quick out of the gate. They've allowed the fewest first-inning runs (nine) and scored the most (34), giving them the largest first-inning margin (+25) in MLB.
• Blake Lalli, a grad of Pine Richland HS and teammate of Neil Walker, was optioned to Nashville by the Brew Crew to clear space for reliever Francisco Rodriguez.
• Andy Oliver started for Indy today, and had another effective but high-walk start. He went five frames giving up three runs (one earner) on three hits with six walks and four whiffs, throwing 97 pitches. The Tribe lost 6-4.
• Charlie Morton's rehab outing at Altoona lasted four innings. He gave up two runs on two hits (both solo homers) with a walk and K after tossing 61 pitches. The Curve won today 6-2.