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Brandon Cumpton (0-1, 4.26) faces Jacob deGrom this afternoon. Cumpton has been a yo-yo the past two years, but now has a chance to stick with Wandy's release. The key for him is continued development of his change and slider to get him deeper into games. His opponent, deGrom, will be making his third big-league start after his May 13th call up from Norfolk; his first two outings have been very solid. His bread-and-butter is a 94 MPH power sinker.
The lineup: Josh Harrison RF, Neil Walker 2B, Cutch CF, Ike Davis 1B, Russ Martin C, Pedro 3B, Starling Marte LF, Jordy Mercer SS and Cumpton P.
The Memorial Day game begins at 1:10 and will be aired on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.
- In a bit of a surprise, the Bucs DFA'ed Vin Mazzaro to clear space on the roster for Brandon Cumpton; many thought Jared Hughes, who still has an option, would be the guy to go. The decision was likely based on Vinsanity working three innings and throwing 53 pitches yesterday, making him unavailable to work the next couple of days. He passed through DFA status once this season; the Bucs may be hoping for the same luck this time around.
- This will be Ike Davis' first homecoming at Citi Field since he was traded April 18th. Adam Rubin of ESPN tweeted that Ike "says best thing about Pitt over NY is he doesn't get hitting tips when he goes for 9 AM coffee."
- OF Chris Dickerson at Indy has had a hit in the last 21 games he's started; the only time he came up empty in that span was as a pinch hitter. He's working on a five game streak after snapping a 16-gamer.
- Manny Ramirez is in our division, kinda. The Cubs signed him, not as a MLB bat, but as a player/coach for their AAA Iowa club.
- Ex-Bucs: RHP Vic Black was sent back to AAA by the Mets, so no family reunion this series.
3 comments:
Wow, poor Mazzaro. He's nothing exceptional, but he has been a fairly effective, fairly dependable second tier - good soldier type in the 'pen. I wouldn't want to lose him for nothing, which could happen if another team scoops him up now that he's been DFA'd.
I also very definitely like Mazzaro a lot more than Hughes, that is for sure.
It is a little curious, Will, since the Bucs in the past have made decisions based on "controlling their assets." I'm guessing the brass just like Hughes in the long haul more than Vinnie.
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