Cole v Kennedy As Bucs Look For Sweep; Pie Gets Call

Gerrit Cole  (6-5, 3.88) takes on Ian Kennedy (4-9, 5.12) in the broom game. Cole has been remarkably steady in his first season. In 11-of-12 starts, he's allowed three runs or fewer. Kennedy was a deadline trade acquisition for the Padres, and is 1-1/4.42 since joining San Diego. Cole has never faced the Padres while Kennedy is 1-1/3.75 in four starts against Pittsburgh.

The game starts at 6:40 and will be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Pirate lineup: Felix Pie LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutcheon CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Russ Martin C, Garrett Jones 1B, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Clint Barmes SS and Gerrit Cole P.


Starling Marte is still out will a bum hand. We're not real sure why Gaby is in against a righty, except to give him some at-bats, much like Barmes at short. Good bench, though, with Marte, JT and Jordy.

Padre lineup: Will Venable RF, Chris Denorfia LF, Yonder Alonso 1B, Jedd Gyorko 2B, Chase Headley 3B, Alexi Amarista CF, Logan Forsythe SS, Rene Rivera C and Ian Kennedy P.

• Felix Pie is in the clubhouse; one of the pitchers, likely Ryan Reid, will have to go to make room for him. He also needs placed on the 40 man roster, but they can move Wandy to the 60-day DL for that space, or less likely but possible - drop Jerry Sands from the 40 man. (Neither Andrew Lambo nor Alex Presley were eligible to return yet) Pie was hitting .251/8/40 at Indy with 38 SB and a .325 OBP, and has a .249 BA in the show in 398 games.
• The Pirates haven't swept the Padres in San Diego since April 29th-May 1st, 2003.
• The Pirates, Yankees, Orioles, Rays and Blue Jays have all been reported to have some interest in the Twins Justin Morneau.
• Andrew McCutchen leads the list on USA Today's MVP Tracker.
• Andrew Lambo signed with the Beverly Hills Sports Council, which also represents Indy 1B Matt Hague. Both guys are eligible to become minor league free agents in 2014...just sayin'.