Pitchers: Frankie Liriano (4-7, 5.03) v Scott Kazmir (5-3, 4.52). Liriano has been wild and homer prone; his last outing saw him staked to a 6-1 lead that eventually became a 7-6 loss. He's been in a month long tailspin with four straight losses, and the Bucs need him to start flying right. In five career starts vs. the Dodgers, Liriano is 4-0/2.73. He faced them twice last year, going 1-0 with one good Frankie, one bad Frankie, outing. The Dodgers' veteran lefty has mostly been workmanlike for LA, with a handful of strong outings and a sprinkling of stinkers thrown in the mix. He has been quite solid over his last half dozen starts, with a 3.38 ERA and 11 K per game. Kazmir has become a five or six inning pitcher, so the Bucs might be able to get to him early.
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| Frankie toes the rubber today (photo Associated Press) |
Lineup: Jordy SS, David Freese 1B, Cutch CF, Jung Ho Kang 3B, Starling LF, Josh Harrison 2B, S-Rod RF, Erik Kratz C, Frankie P. It's the fourth game in a row for Gregory on the bench, with his sore hammy compounded by a couple of tough lefties. Kratz gets the call for a day-after-night game, and Jordy's back.
- Since 2014, Pittsburgh has gone 13-3 against the Dodgers.
- The Bucs last sweep was a three-gamer against the Arizona D-Backs between May 24-26th. The Pirates have been involved in seven sweeps this year; they've taken three and been broomed four times. Last year, they were 14-6 in swept series.
- Jordy passed his concussion protocols after taking a knee to the noggin last night, and said he felt much better after the game. Guess he passed with flying colors, as he's back in the lineup.
I sure hope Polanco's issues aren't chronic. Not much has gone right for the Pirates this season, and to be fair about it, not many teams would be able to weather the kind of storm the team has been sailing through in 2016. I don't think Polanco has been right, physically, all year, though he swears he's healthy. On the other hand, he's had bouts of wildness throughout his career, so maybe he's just hit a rough patch.
ReplyDeleteGuessing you mean Frankie, Will, and I'm down on him. He's been consistently wild this year; I think if there's an injury involved, it's mental. Liriano claims it's a matter of rhythm; he's other rushing or lagging. When a vet is headed into July and can't square away his delivery, IMO it ain't happening.
ReplyDeleteWoops, right you are. I switched from talking about Polanco to talking about Liriano, and didn't make that clear. I know Liriano had some kind of leg injury early this season and am guessing that it either threw his mechanics out of whack and he's gotten into bad habits as a result, or else that it's something chronic (like a sore hamstring) and still bothering him, or both. My money is on both---however, he has had notable bouts of wildness in the past, and it bears considering that he NEVER put together even two decent seasons in a row before he became a Pirate. There's no question that his nosedive this season has been one of the biggest factors in the team's descent in the standings.
ReplyDeleteIf he's hurt beyond a season's usual wear and tear, Will, he's kept it quiet. I think that he's just going thru a mechanical meltdown, similar to a hitter in a season-long slump. There are so many moving pieces involved that once u try to break a delivery down, it's almost like starting over again. It's an occupational hazard in Pittsburgh, since the team tries to rebuild so many guys who are fundamentally challenged when they arrive.
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