Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Cole Train Meets Michael Wacha; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game - Gerrit Cole (14-5, 2.39) gets another marquee matchup, this time against Michael Wacha (13-4, 2.92). The pair are 1-2 in MLB wins (Seattle's Felix Hernandez also has 14 victories) and will be meeting for the first time.

Cole is 1-2 since the All-Star break, and is coming off a performance against the Dodgers where his command was uncharacteristically off. The Cole Train is 2-2 with a 3.24 ERA in five matchups with St. Louis, winning 5-2 on July 10th at PNC Park. Gerrit is 0-2 at Busch,with both starts coming last season.

Wacha has stepped up to ace status. He's tossed 14 straight scoreless innings and has a 1.42 ERA in two starts against Pittsburgh this season with a win and no-decision. First pitch is at 8:15 and will be aired by ESPN, Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.


Cole Train and the A Team on the field tonight.

  • Gerrit is looking to join teammates AJ Burnett (16-10, 2012) and Francisco Liriano (16-8, 2013) as the only Pirates to win 15+ games over the last 16 seasons after Todd Ritchie went 15-9 in 1999. 
  • A bit of trivia from @AceballStats: Andrew McCutchen has never grounded into a double-play when facing a 2-0 or 3-0 count.
  • The Cards have won seven straight meetings at Busch Stadium, including all four this season in come-from-behind rallies.
  • Fran will catch Gerrit for the first time since May 6th, a 3-0 loss to the Reds.
  • Go figure: The Pirates are a MLB-best 24-15 in one-run decisions overall, yet their record in one-run games in the NL Central is now 1-8.
  • In their rehab debuts, Josh went 1-for-4 and Jordy 0-for-3 at Indy. Both are hoping to return to action later this month.
  • Baseball America looked at Class AA, and selected Josh Bell (hitting), Tyler Glasnow (pitching) and Gift Ngoebe (defense - SS) as having the best tools at that level.
  • Per @EliasSports, it wasn't just Pittsburgh. Home teams were 15-0 on Tuesday, the most games played on a single day without a home team loss in MLB history.
  • How tough is the NL Central? The Sporting News took a peek. 

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