Morton v Hefner; Pedro in HR Derby, Minor Trade

Charlie Morton (1-2, 3.38) takes on Jeremy Hefner (4-6, 3.39) as the Mets come to town for a three game set leading into the All-Star break. Morton is still a work in progress. He needs a little better control and to knock some lefties off the plate, although his post-surgery heater has been sitting at 95, which is promising, and he's still Ground Chuck.

Hefner has been hot lately. Since June 4, his ERA is just 1.64, and he's only given given up one earned run in six of his past seven starts. The Mets have won his past five outings, so we'll see if the Bucco bats are up to the task. The game starts at 7:05 and will be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Pirate lineup: Starling Marte LF, Jose Tabata RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Russell Martin C, Garrett Jones 1B, Jordy Mercer 2B, Clint Barmes SS and Charlie Morton P.

Met lineup: Eric Young LF, Daniel Murphy 2B, David Wright 3B, Ike Davis 1B, Marlon Byrd RF, Kirk Nieuwenhuis CF, Anthony Recker C, Omar Quintanilla SS and Jeremy Hefner P.

• New York is on a roll with a slate of 16-9 in its last 25 games. They've taken four straight and seven of ten. But the last time the Bucs and Mets got together in late May, the Pirates took 3-of-4. 
• Pedro did make the Home Run Derby, after all. El Toro will replace Carlos Gonzalez, who has a sprained finger. He joins Andrew McCutchen, Jason Bay, Barry Bonds & Bobby Bo as Bucs who have participated (and hit a grand total of six long balls among them!). It's nice he gets to swing at home in NYC and a feather in his cap, but it was much ado over nothing as to whether or not he got in.
• Kevin Connelly of Yahoo!Sports Has Five Questions Facing The Pirates...
• The Pirates have announced they have acquired 1B/OF Russ Canzler from the Orioles in exchange for RHP Tim Alderson. Canzler, who hit .276 w/ 15 doubles,11 HRs, 49 RBI & 46 runs in 86 games with AAA Norfolk, was put on the 40-man roster. He's been a southpaw crusher in a small MLB sample; he's hit .400 with a 206 tOPS+ against LHP. Ironically, he lost a battle for the O's last roster spot to Steve Pearce during camp. J-Mac was transferred to the 60-day D to make room for Kinzler.
• The Bucs signed 11th-round pick Erich Weiss for $305K. The Texas 3B had rough junior year but showed a solid line-drive bat in past, per Jim Callis of Baseball America. The Pirates have gone over their bonus pool with the deal, and owe a tax of $72,900, but haven't lost any future picks.
• Frank Jackson The Hardball Times of has a piece on thirties & forties Bucco hurler Rip Sewell and the ol' eephus, the ultimate change up.