Sunday: Padres-Pirates Finale, Cole Train v Clayton Richard, Lineup, Notes

Today: The set end today with the opening toss at 4:40.The game will be on AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan as the Bucs try to avoid a brooming.

Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Josh Harrison 2B, Cutch CF, David Freese 3B, Jose Osuna 1B, Jordy Mercer SS, Jordan Luplow RF, Chris Stewart C & Gerrit Cole P. A Sunday lineup for sure.

All aboard the Cole Train (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Pitchers: Gerrit Cole (8-7, 4.12) spins against Clayton Richard (5-11, 5.37). Cole Train is making his 22nd start of the season and he's been on a little roll, going 5-1/3.04 over his last eight outings with only one clinker in the group.
Gerrit has gone 3-1/1.52 in four career starts against the Friars with his most recent effort an 11-1 win at Petco Park last year. Richard's career was rejuvenated when the Bucs signed him to a deal in 2015 after Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery, and a good stint at Indy got him work first with the Cubs and now with the Padres, where's he's been an innings-eating (21 starts, 127-1/3 IP) back-ender. The southpaw is riding a rough streak; in his last six games, he's 1-5, 8.73 with a .403 oppo BA and seven homers surrendered in 33 IP. Despite that, Richard has been rough on the Bucs with a 2-1/2.01 slash in eight games (three starts), but not so much last year when he faced the Pirates three times in relief and gave up two runs in an inning of work. A thing to watch for: Richard is an extreme ground ball guy (58%) and the Bucs have been burning a lot of worms lately. That combo potentially leads to a lot of singles and a lot of GIDP.

Notes:

• Gerrit Cole has won his last five road starts.The last Pirates pitcher to win five consecutive starts on the road was Kevin Correia in 2011. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last Pittsburgh pitcher to win more than five straight road starts was Don Robinson, who won seven consecutive during the 1982 season.

J-Bell has been running hot and cold (photo via MLB Pipeline)

• J-Bell has gone 1-for-16 in the last four games after going 9-for-19 in the prior four games.
• Pittsburgh batters have been hit by a pitch three times in this series and lead MLB with 58 plunkings this season.
• On a carousel: The Pirates have lost six of their last seven games after winning a season-high six in a row.
• Tyler Glasnow punched out the side in the first at Indy, breaking Ian Snell's record for July strikeouts when TyGlow whiffed #44. Just to prove it wasn't a fluke, he did the same in the second. Glasnow whiffed seven straight before a foul out snapped the string.
• Congrats to Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, Tim Raines and Jeff Bagwell, who will inducted into the Hall of Fame today, along with suits John Schuerholz and Bud Selig.