Frankie v Jimmy Nelson; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - Francisco Liriano (5-6, 2.98) vs. Jimmy Nelson (6-9, 4.21). Liriano has gone 4-2 in his last ten starts with a 2.15 ERA and 73 K in 73 IP. Frankie has been so-so against the Brew Crew, going 6-5 with a 4.06 ERA lifetime against them in 13 starts. His latest outing earlier in the year was a 4-1 loss to Taylor Jungmann five weeks ago.

Frankie 2013 Topps Gold series

Nelson, 26, has been up-and-down this year, but he's won three of his last four games after a slight mechanic adjustment to his delivery. He split a pair of starts against the Bucs in April with a shutout win at Miller Field and loss in Pittsburgh, then held the Pirates scoreless over six innings on June 8th at PNC Park. That makes him 2-1 with a 1.00 ERA against the Pirates with 19 K in 18 IP. He has four pitches, a four-and-two seam fastball, slider and knuckle curve along with a 49% ground ball rate. The game starts at 7:10 and will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Today's Lineup - Gregory Polanco RF, Neil Walker 2B, Cutch CF, Starling Marte LF, Jung Ho Kang 3B, Pedro 1B, Fran Cervelli C, Jordy SS, Liriano P.

Same as yesterday; let's hope for better results.

• Turning a corner? Gregory Polanco has hit safely in 10-of-13 games and has a .393 OBP for July.
• Jordy has seven intentional walks, not surprising as the eight hole hitter. What is a bit surprising is that Pedro is tied with him for the team lead.
• Since June 23rd, the Pirates and Brewers have the same record: 14-6.
• Tonight is Negro League night; the Pirates will dress in Pittsburgh Crawfords unis while the Brew Crew will don the jerseys of the Milwaukee Bears.
• The Pirates lead the league in hit batsmen with 53 plunkings (JHK has been bopped 11 times) and are second in batters hit with 40.
• The Daily Dish has a fan post suggesting 16 deadline trades that mostly make some sense, including a small one for the Bucs.