Monday, June 2, 2014

Morton v Stauffer, Lineup, Josh, Cutch

Charlie Morton (1-7, 3.29) goes against Tim Stauffer (2-1, 4.50) tonight. Morton needs to reaquaint himself with the plate; in his last two starts, he's walked eight hitters in 11 innings. Ground Chuck has done pretty well against the Padres. He's 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA in three career starts (21-1/3 IP).

Stauffer, usually a long man, was pulled from the pen after San Diego starters Andrew Cashner and Robbie Erlin went on the DL. He's has given the Padres one good outing (five shutout innings) and one not-so-good performance (he only got one man out last time on the mound) in his replacement role, so he's been a Jekyll and Hyde starter so far.

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 Morton P.

There's no place the Pirates visit on the Left Coast that isn't associated with some ugly numbers. San Diego has won 22 of 28 over Pittsburgh but lost two of three in the teams' last series at Petco in August. If the Buccos can escape the Elm Street of Dodger Stadium, they should be able to compete in San Diego, especially with their short-staffed pitching.

  • Josh Harrison has hit leadoff in each of the last 14 games, which is the longest stretch since Starling Marte led off each of the first 14 games this season. Harrison is hitting .316 in 20 games batting leadoff this season.
  • Last night, Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a home run against Los Angeles’ Zack Greinke as the Bucs beat the Dodgers 5-3 on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other players who’ve recorded three extra-base hits off Greinke in one game did it during his tenure with the Royals: Arizona’s Shawn Green (two homers and a double on June 10, 2005) and Toronto’s Marco Scutaro (three doubles on June 5, 2009).
  • Last night's game drew a 7.7 Nielsen rating in Pittsburgh, the highest-rated MLB game on ESPN ever in Pittsburgh market.
  • Stolmy Pimentel has been added to the Marauders roster to begin his MLB rehab assignment, after spending some time throwing at Pirate City.

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