Reds Roll Into Town, Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - Jeff Locke (2-1, 4.76) toes the slab against the Reds and 23 year old righty Michael Lorenzen (0-1, 5.40), who is making his second career start. In his first outing, Lorenzen allowed three home runs in an 8-3 loss to the Brewers, so we'll see if that was a case of the first-game butterflies or a welcome to the show. Locke hasn't lived up to his usual sterling first half rep yet, and this would be a fine time to kick it in. The southpaw matches up well against Cincy: he's 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA in seven career starts against them. The game starts at 7:05 and will be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Jay Hay gets the day off for the hotter bat of Kang, with Fran Cervelli moving into the two hole. Otherwise, same gang looking for an overdue bat attack. Also, bring your umbrellas if you're going to the game; could be a passing boomer or two during the evening.

• The Bucs have lost 5-of-6. They've scored six runs in the five losses over 53 frames and eight in the nine-inning win. Maybe they should have seen that St. Louis series coming - their opponents tonight, the Reds, swept the Bucs to open the season at Great American Ball Park , with the winning run coming for all three games scoring during Cincinnati’s final at bat; one in the eighth inning and two walkoffs.
• Pedro Alvarez is tied with Hall-of-Famer Paul Waner and former outfielder Bill Robinson for 17th place on Pittsburgh’s all-time home run list with 109.
• Yesterday was a big day for the Bucco system from MLB to Class AA. Gerrit Cole became the first Pirate since to capture the NL Pitcher of the Month Award since Randy Tomlin in June of 1992.  Indy 1B Deibinson Romero was the International League's April Player of the Month  & RHP Adrian Sampson took IL Pitcher of the Week honors. Altoona 1B Josh Bell claimed the Player of the Week recognition from the Eastern League.
• Jeff Karstens had labrum surgery last season, and that apparently was his last straw, as he announced his retirement yesterday.  JK wasn't an ace, but he held up his end of the deal when healthy for the Pirates.