Worley v Anderson, Lineup, Snake Charmers, On-Base, Goldschmidt on DL, Bullpen Stats, Hansen Moved

Vance Worley (4-1, 2.54) takes on Chase Anderson (6-4, 3.34) today.

Can't get much better than Vanimal was last start, with a 100 pitch, complete game shutout of the Giants. He doesn't get many whiffs, but he doesn't give up many walks, homers or centered pitches either, so you have to string a couple of good at-bats together to get to Vance. Worley gets fairly deep into games, going six innings seven times this season and into the seventh inning on five occasions. He, like Edinson Volquez, is in a battle to see who's left standing when Gerrit Cole returns.

Worley is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in three career starts against Arizona. He went seven innings and gave up three runs against the Snakes on July 3rd, losing to Brandon McCarthy.

Chase Anderson's heater runs sits at 90, touching 94 MPH, and he mixes in a curveball and changeup. His changeup can be quite good. One thing to watch is that his ERA (3.34) is outperforming his FIP (4.44) by better than a run, so a little correction may be in store for him in the dog days. In his only outing against Pittsburgh, Chase was chased in the fourth inning at PNC Park on July 2nd in what eventually ended up a 5-1 Bucco win.

The lineup: Josh Harrison LF, Gregory Polanco RF, Cutch CF, Neil Walker 2B, Ike Davis 1B, Russ Martin C, Pedro 3B, Jordy Mercer SS and Worley P. Josh keeps Travis Snider on the pine; otherwise a typical lineup against a RHP.

The game starts at 8:10 and will be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

• The Pirates lead the NL with a .332 OBP and rank first with 378 walks drawn. The last season in which Pittsburgh led the senior circuit in OBP and walks was 1991.
• Snake Charmers: Jordy Mercer is 13-for-35 (.371) with a homer and four RBI in his career while Travis Snider is hitting .385 (10-for-26) lifetime against Arizona.
• Well, no wonder Arizona was upset last night. The Snakes placed 1B Paul Goldschmidt on the 15-day DL with a fractured left hand, compliments of a pitch that got away from Ernesto Frieri last night.
• The Bucco bullpen leads all MLB teams with 26 wins this season and is tied for sixth among NL teams with 32 saves.
• Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects reports that Alen Hansen is being moved off short and to second at Altoona. We can think of a couple of reasons: a permanent change in response to so-so glove work at short, or possibly a bit of down-the-road prep if Neil Walker gets moved to the hot corner (or heads out-of-town) at some point in the future; he's an FA after the 2016 season, right about when Hansen should be due.