Volquez v Garza, Lineup, Russ, Josh & The Team En Fuego

Milwaukee's Matt Garza (3-4, 4.42) goes against Edinson Volquez (3-4, 4.25) this afternoon. Eddie has won two of his last three starts, giving up two or dewer runs, and appears back on track. He's been showing mid-nineties velocity in his past couple of outings though command has remained an issue. Volquez has met the Brewers pretty often in his career, going 6-3 with a 4.57 ERA in 14 starts.

Garza, a veteran guy off to a slow start, is coming off his best game of the year when he went 6-1/3 shutout frames against the Twins, featuring a change as his out pitch. Garza's picked up 17 K in his last two outings, a sign that he's starting to find his groove. He's 1-2/4.36 in six starts against the Pirates.

Lineup: Josh Harrison RF, Neil Walker 2B, Cutch CF, Ike Davis 1B, Russ Martin C, Pedro 3B, Jose Tabata LF, Jordy mercer SS and Volquez P.

The game starts at 4:05 and will be broadcast by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan. Another good crowd is expected to catch the first place Brew Crew and a post-game concert by the Goo Goo Dolls.

• Pittsburgh is 18-13 (.580) over the last 31 games and on pace for an 86 win season. The team has won four of their last five games and six of their last eight.
• Last night, Russ Martin became the second Pirate catcher since 1920 (the first season that RBI were recorded) to go 3-for-3 or better with at least three runs scored and four RBI in a game; the other was Ryan Doumit, who went 4-for-4 with three runs and four RBI at Wrigley Field on September 30th, 2009.
• Josh Harrison will carry a nine-game hitting streak into today’s action.
• One overlooked fact in the Gregory Polanco debate: RF hasn't been such an abyss in the past month, with JT hitting .372 and Josh .325 over that span.
• Stolmy Pimentel, who is on the DL with right shoulder inflammation, pitched three scoreless innings in a rehab start for Double-A Altoona last night.