Sunday: Steven Brault v Chase Anderson, Lineup (Shook Up), Notes

Today: The game's first pitch is at 1:35 and will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan. It's kid's day, as always, and the lil' ones will get a baseball cap.The Pirates are pinning their hopes of avoiding a sweep on Steven Brault's left arm this afternoon.

Pitchers: Brault (0-1, 3.86) tosses the finale against Chase Anderson (7-11, 4.92). Steven returns from his brief paper transfer to Bristol and has a month to make an impression. He's got a WHIP of 1.643 and walks 4.5 batters per nine, so the young lefty could stand working out of the stretch a little less often. Steven also has to be more efficient; he's only gone 14 IP in his three MLB starts. Anderson twirled a decent outing against the Bucs on August 28th, going 5-1/3 IP and giving up a pair of runs on five hits. He's been solid versus Pittsburgh this year, as he's 1-1/3.14 in three starts.

Steven Brault gets his fourth start this afternoon (photo Butch Dill/USA Today)

Lineup: Josh Harrison 2B, John Jaso 1B, Cutch CF, Grgory Polanco RF, Starling Marte LF, S-Rod SS, Adam Frazier 3B, Stew C, Brault. A couple of cool bats get a sit-down, and with both J-Hay and Fraze playing, there will be a pair of over-caffeinated Buccos zipping around the yard to boost the energy level.

• Neftali Feliz's injury? So far, it's just "right arm discomfort." The team offered no update other than he's "feeling better" today.
• From @joe_block: Andrew McCutchen has slashed .297/.403/.465 (4 HR, 15 RBI, 18 BB, 17 SO) since taking the Atlanta series off.
• The injured guys are wandering home. Jung Ho Kang will play at Indy today and should rejoin the Pirates tomorrow if his shoulder holds up. Gerrit Cole is tentatively scheduled to return to action September 12th.
• The Bucs have no further to look than Milwaukee to explain their bubble position for the wildcard. The Brew Crew is 7-8 against Pittsburgh. The Brewers against the other WC contenders: St. Louis (4-11), San Fran (1-5), LAD (2-5), NY Mets (2-5) and Miami (2-4).
• To add a little fuel to the J-Hay at leadoff debate: in 32 games at the top spot, Josh slashes .308/.329/.388 with 17 runs scored and 14 RBI. In the seven hole, between Fran and Jordy, his line is .307/.349/.412 with 16 runs and 24 men chased home in 43 games. The prob, of course, is that Clint doesn't have anyone who has the combo of speed, discipline and OBP chops of a traditional top-of-the-order guy to plug into the slot.