Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (1-1, 3.50) opens the set against Nick Tepesch (0-0. 0.00) in a battle of recent minor league aces. Jameson has been cold, hot and cold in his first trip around the block. The key seems to be his fastball command; when JT's heat is stays down, he's a beast, but when it elevates some, the results end up beastly. Tepesch is a 27-year-old righty who has made 39 big-league starts (9-17/4.56; last MLB outing was in 2014). He joined the Dodgers three weeks ago, after using an opt-out clause with the Texas Rangers. At AAA Oklahoma City, he went 3-0/2.00. His last outing earned him a look: Tepesch went eight innings, giving up one run on three hits while piling up eight Ks.
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| Adam Frazier has earned a ticket to the show (photo via 2080 Baseball) |
Lineup: JJ 1B, Starling Marte LF, Cutch CF, Jung Ho Kang 3B, Matt Joyce RF, Jordy SS, S-Rod 2B, Stew C, Taillon P. Starling's back, so there's that. Josh is probably getting a rest day, but we're not sure about Gregory's absence, especially as the Dodgers have two lefties slated to go in the series.
Preview: The Dodgers come into town on a roll, with six straight wins and nine victories in their past 10 games while the Bucs are whirling around the drain this month. They'll face another pair of top guns in Clayton Kershaw and Kenta Maeda, tho they will miss 19 year old sensation Julio Urias. This is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs. Pittsburgh was 5-1 against the Dodgers in 2015, sweeping them at PNC Park, but what a difference a year makes...
- Busy day: the Pirates called up UT Adam Frazier (.333/.401/.425) from Indy and sent Jake Stallings down now that Stew looks able to contribute again. That gives Clint quite a bit more maneuverability off the pine. Juan Nicasio was activated off the restricted list while Jorge Rondon and Cole Figueroa were DFA'ed to clear 40-man roster spots.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan's Prospect Heat List features three Bucco youngsters - Tyler Glasnow, Kevin Newman and Tito Polo.
I am mildly surprised that Figueroa got the DFA. I think he's a decent utilityman and I don't know that Frazier is a better option. Not that either move is going to result in the Pirates winning the World Series---or anything else this season---but still a bit of a head-scratcher for me.
ReplyDeleteFrazier showed well in the spring, Will, and plays middle IF/LF-CF (Indy's Victory Stadium is a bit like PNC, with a deep left center, as I'm guessing ya know), so he'll do. My guess is that we'll see a parade start to form. Freese & Joyce are on 1-year deals, so they're expendable, and it won't hurt to see how the Indy guys do here, either as potential puzzle pieces or showcases for other clubs.
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