Lineup, Notes

Alfredo Simon (2-1, 0.86) goes against Charlie Morton (0-2, 4.32) tonight. Charlie has been up-and-down early in the season and is still looking to recapture his 2013 form. Simon has stepped in for the injured Mat Latos, and in a big way. His ERA is 0.86 over three starts (21 IP) since joining the Cincinnati rotation.

The lineup: Starling Marte LF, Neil Walker 2B, Cutch CF, Pedro 3B, Russ Martin C, Ike Davis 1B, Travis Snider RF, Jordy Mercer SS and Morton P.

The game will be on the MLB Network and 93.7 The Fan. No Roots Sports tonight as the Penguins are playing at Columbus.

• Andrew McCutchen has homered in back-to-back games and has reached base safely eight times in his last nine plate appearances.
• More evidence that Brandon Cumpton will take Wandy's rotation spot: he was scratched from tonight's scheduled Indy start.
• Josh Duggan of The Daily Dish posted that the Bucs needed to land Ike Davis to keep pace in the NL Central and emphatically joined the "#Free Polanco" crowd. 
• Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com likes the system Pittsburgh employs to straighten out pitchers, with Edinson Volquez being his featured poster boy.
• Grant Brisbee of SB Nation has a piece on why Gerrit Cole wasn't suspended: he didn't swing at anyone, and yapping is a baseball tradition, not violation. 
• The Bucs haven't been exactly packin' 'em in for the Reds series. Monday drew 12,864 fans and yesterday attracted 11,962. With the dismal weather and the Penguins on TV, the club might have trouble drawing five figures tonight.
• Travis Ishikawa was sent outright to Indy after clearing waivers and can opt for free agency instead of reporting. Ishi hit .206/.263/.382 with a homer, a triple and a double for the Bucs.
• Ex-Bucs: The Baltimore Orioles DFA'ed OF/1B Steve Pearce. If unclaimed, he could decline a minor league assignment and become a FA.