Liriano v Verlander; Roster Moves

Francisco Liriano (3-0, 1.00) takes on Justin Verlander (5-4, 3.66) at Coamerica this afternoon. The Cisco Kid has seen Detroit 23 times, and not fared so well against them with a 5-7 record and 5.93 ERA. It'll be interesting to see how he deals against an AL club that's familiar with his stuff (the Tigers were a long-time divisional foe of Liriano's), unlike most of his current NL opponents.

Verlander tossed two complete-game victories against the Pirates last year, including a one-hitter in Detroit. In three career starts against Pittsburgh, Verlander is 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA. The good news is that he's been beat up in his last two starts, so it may be an opportune time to be facing him. The game starts at 1:08 and will be aired by The MLB Network, Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

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

Snider has been moved out of the two hole and dropped to eighth today.

Tiger lineup: Omar Infante 2B, Torii Hunter RF, Miguel Cabrera 3B, Prince Fielder 1B, Victor Martinez DH, Jhonny Peralta SS, Matt Tuiasosopo LF, Brayan Pena C and Avisail Garcia CF.

A familiar face in Prince Fielder. The Tiger attack is a test for any pitcher; they average 5+ runs per game.

• Tom Singer of MLB.com reported a bunch of Bucco moves going into interleague play: IF Josh Harrison and LHP Mike Zagurski were called up, RHP Bryan Morris Morris was optioned to Indy, OF Jose Tabata was placed on the 15 day DL with an oblique issue and RHP Jeff Karstens was placed on the 60 day DL to open a 40-man roster spot for Zagurski.
• Garrett Jones will DH in the two-game set at Detroit.
• Detroit and Pittsburgh are officially designated interleague rivals. The Pirates preference, Cleveland, is paired with cross-state Cincinnati.
• Jason Grilli's 20-for-20 save mark is quietly sneaking up on the Bucs' consecutive save record. It's 28, set by Joel Hanrahan from Sept. 12th, 2010 to July 8th, 2011. Hanny also holds the single season mark of 26 straight, set in 2011.
• The Pirates are seventh in the latest ESPN Power Ratings. 
• Charlie Morton goes for Indy and J-Mac for Altoona in rehab starts today.