Liriano and Zito Meet

Barry Zito (4-4, 4.06) climbs the bump to face Francisco Liriano (4-2, 1.75) tonight. The Cisco Kid has allowed one earned run or less in five of his first six starts. After a rough outing in Detroit, he has bounced back strong, giving up just two earned runs with 19 K in his last two games, covering 13 IP.

Zito, like Lincecum, likes the Bay Area much more than the road. His ERA away from AT&T Park is 10.19 in four starts. He's 2-3 with a 3.73 ERA in seven career games against the Pirates while Liriano has never faced the Giants. The game starts at 7:05 and will be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Pirate lineup: Starling Marte LF, Jordy Mercer SS, Andrew McCutchen CF, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Russell Martin C, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Neil Walker 2B, Brandon Inge RF and Francisco Liriano P.

Jordy's in against a lefty...so are Pedro and Brandon Inge.

Giants lineup: Andres Torres LF, Tony Abreu 2B, Buster Posey C, Hunter Pence RF, Joaquin Arias 3B,
Brandon Belt 1B,. Juan Perez CF, Brandon Crawford SS and Barry Zito P.

Pretty much the lineup Bruce Bochy tossed against Tony Watson yesterday.

• There was a bit of blogger bickering over last night's attendance as a barometer of Bucco-mania in general and Cole fans specifically. It was the fifth biggest crowd of the season, and the only weekday game (save Opening Day) to draw 30,000+ (30,614) so far this year. The Pirates said around 10,000 walk-up tickets were sold. So we'd say it was a pretty good turnout.
• The Pirates quit wanding fans sometime around the second inning yesterday and a lot of ticket holders missed some of Gerrit Cole's debut because of the new security protocol. The situation was fouled up enough that the team even issued an apology. It works for the Steeler games as their crowd is used to it, and the bugs will eventually be worked out at PNC, too. But maybe a day with a big walk-up sale wasn't the most inspired time to bring that type of security on-line.
• James McDonald had another not-so-hot start for Indy yesterday. He went six innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and two walks with three whiffs, while tossing 89 pitches. J-Mac's rehab ERA is 7.45. The Pirates have a couple of weeks to figure out where - or if - he fits in down the road.
• Jim Callis of Baseball America tweeted that the Pirates signed ninth round draft pick Chad Kuhl for $145,200, noting that the Delaware RHP gets a lot of groundouts with his sinker." Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects posted that the Bucs also signed 19th round selection RHP Brett McKinney from Ohio State, but had no bonus figure.
• Ross Ohlendorf was called up by the Nats.