Sunday, August 9, 2015

Charlie v Alex Wood; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - Charlie Morton (7-4, 4.19) closes the series against southpaw Alex Wood (7-7, 3.65). We saw good Charlie emerge last time out with a 3-0 win over the Reds after a rough patch. He's gone 4-1 with a 2.52 ERA in six starts at PNC Park this season, so the home ballyard has been good to him. Not much to go on against LA; he hasn't faced them since 2010.

The 24 year old lefty features a funky delivery with a 3/4 release that's tough on hitters to pick up. The delivery may be odd, but he's a dependable ground ball guy who gets his share of whiffs and doesn't give up many free passes. Wood has been solid against the Bucs this year, losing 3-0 and coming back to win his second start 2-1. He's 1-2/2.57 lifetime against Pittsburgh in five outings. The game starts at 8:05 and will be the national ESPN feature. It's also on 93.7 The Fan.

Tonight the Pirates are playing in their second of three Sunday Night Baseball games on ESPN. Pittsburgh closed out the first half of the year with a 6-5, 10-inning walkoff win against the Cardinals on July 12.The Buccos are scheduled to be featured on Sunday Night Baseball again two weeks from tonight against the Giants at PNC Park.



Michael Morse gets the start and The Kid drops down in the order with a lefty on the hill, otherwise the same ol' from Clint.

  • Starling ranks first among NL left fielders in hits with 97 and assists, with nine.
  • Remember when the Bucs kept losing all those tight contests early in the year? The worm has turned - Pittsburgh has posted the best record in MLB this season in one-run games at 24-14.
  • Mark Melancon is just the third pitcher in team history to post 35 or more saves in a season, joining Mike Williams (46 in 2002), Jose Mesa (43 in 2004) and Joel Hanrahan (40 in 2011 and 36 in 2012).
  • Still waiting to see if Vanimal stays with the organization. He cleared waivers and was assigned to Indy, but hasn't decided whether or not to opt for free agency.
  • SS Cole Tucker, the Bucs #1 pick in 2014, is on the minor league DL with an unspecified shoulder injury.

No comments:

Post a Comment