Friday, August 15, 2014

Morton v Roarke, Lineup, Travis, Russ, Jordy

Charlie Morton (5-11, 3.62) opens the Nat series against Tanner Roark (11-7, 2.86)

Ya just can't tell what yer gonna get with Charlie; some days he's all that, but he's maddenly inconsistent and can go from cruise to damage control mode in a heartbeat during his outings. He's 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA in five career starts against Washington. Charlie has a notch in his belt already this season, taking a 4-3 decision from Jordan Zimmermann at PNC Park in l;ate May.

You may not know much about Tanner Roarke, who made his debut late last year and gets lost among the Nats' big-name staff, but he's been pretty darn good. Roark has a 2.50 career ERA since he took the ball last August. The only starters with a lower ERA during that time are Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto, Zack Greinke and Jon Lester. He uses a sinker with a cutter, slider and change to keep batters off-balance.

The righty's heater checks in at 93-94 MPH, and Roarke is no treat to meet, especially after a day at the office against Max Scherzer. He's been on a roll lately and has given up just one run in five of his last six starts. This will be the first time he and the Pirates meet.

The lineup: Josh Harrison SS, Gregory Polanco RF, Russ Martin C, Neil Walker 2B, Starling Marte CF, Travis Snider LF, Ike Davis 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B and Morton P. Pedro has bump Jayson Nix from third, although that may just be with Josh at SS while Jordy recovers from his arm tightness. The Kid is back too; we'll see how long it takes him to get comfy again; hopefully, even w/o rehab, not too long. Maybe not the ideal indield behind Ground Chuck, but ya can only play the cards ya have.

The game starts at 7:05 and will be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.
  • Remember when he was gonna get cut? Travis Snider connected for his 10th home run of the season Wednesday night and is now 7-for-15 with three HRs and seven RBI in his last four games. Since the All-Star break, Travis is hitting .311 with four doubles, six home runs and 18 RBI in 23 games.
  • Russ Martin has an 11-game hitting streak coming into tonight’s game.
  • Jordy Mercer has started  the last 49 games at shortstop. The streak ends today as he's out with forearm tightness

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