Wednesday: Kuhl v German Marquez, Lineup (Fran's Back), Notes

Tonight: Colorado ends its visit to PNC Park at 7:05 and the Bucs will be gunning for a sweep if the weatherman permits; there have been off-and-on rumbles and T-storms passing through all afternoon. The game will be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Josh Harrison 3B, Gregory Polanco RF, John Jaso LF, Josh Bell 1B, Cutch CF, Fran Cervelli C, Max Moroff SS & Chad Kuhl P. Kinda odd look to the lineup, but Clint has been guessing right lately. And welcome back, Cervy.

Mad Max gets the start at short as Jordy gets a blow (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Pitchers: Chad Kuhl (1-5, 5.63) closes the set against German Marquez (4-3, 4.44). Cool Chad will be making his 13th start of the season. He's had a rough go of it this year, but with the pressure on with Jamo returning, he spun a sharp game against the O's in his last outing. Kuhl has intrigued the Bucs this year with increased velo and a curve that can become a weapon in keeping lefties from getting too comfy against him (.340 v .243 L/R split). One other thing to work on - his home slash is 1-3/7.71 in PNC starts starts. He's never toed the rubber v Colorado. The 22-year-old Marquez needs to develop some consistency. In six of his nine starts, he's given up two or fewer runs, but was rocked in the other three outings. He averages a K per frame and his walk/HR numbers aren't dazzling but are OK and like most Rox pitchers, has a big home-away split (2-2, 5.70 at Coors; 2-1, 3.74 on the road). He's never tossed against Pittsburgh.

Notes:

• Fran was activated off the 7-day concussion DL; AJ Schugel was optioned back to Indy. Now the regular balance of 12 pitchers, 13 players is restored altho they're now carrying three catchers (Amore, Eli & Jacob).
• J-Bell has a six-game hitting streak.
• Juan Nicasio has posted a 0.73 ERA and been charged with just one run in his last 22 IP.
• Flex those biceps: With his 13th career multi-homer game last night, Cutch has now hit double-digit home runs in nine consecutive seasons. He is the fourth player in team history to do so, joining Willie Stargell (18 years between 1963-1980), Roberto Clemente (13 years between 1960-1972) and Al Oliver (9 years between 1969-1977).

Andrew has circled the bases aplenty for the Pirates (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

• Clint picked up his 539th win as the Pirates manager last night, tying him with Frankie Frisch for the fifth-most victories in Pirates history. Gonna be awhile before he moves up on the franchise board after that. Chuck Tanner is fourth on the list with 711 wins and Fred Clarke is Pittsburgh’s all-time leader with 1,422 wins.
• The Yankees got 21-year-old RHP Matt Frawley as the PTBNL in the Johnny Barbato deal. Frawley, a 17th-round pick last year, is a reliever for West Virginia with a 3-1-3/1.62 slash, averaging a K per frame.
• Neftali Feliz has been DFA'ed by the Brewers.
• For our pop culture fans: "Straight Outta Compton" star O’Shea Jackson Jr. has been cast as Dock Ellis for a film project called "Dock" to be produced by Cube Vision (Jackson is Ice Cube's son).