Monday: LA at Pittsburgh, Cole v Alex Wood, Lineup, Notes

Tonight: Los Angeles opens a four-game set with the first pitch at 7:05. AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan will carry the contest.

Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Josh Harrison 2B, Cutch CF, David Freese 3B, Jose Osuna 1B, S-Rod RF, Jordy Mercer SS, Stew C, Gerrit Cole P. Joey O and S-Rod, a couple of righty sticks, get the nod against lefty Wood. And no, we have no idea why Clint can't make a lineup until it's nearly gametime.

Cole Train rollin' (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Pitchers: Gerrit Cole (10-8, 4.04) starts the set against Alex Wood (14-1, 2.30). Cole Train was plagued by long balls in his last outing, but has a good run going, slashing 7-2/3.26 over his last 12 starts. His 25 starts this year are the most since he made a career-high 32 in 2015. The Dodgers are a club that Cole hasn't matched up very well against. He is 3-1 in five career starts but with a 5.22 ERA. Gerrit hasn't seen LA this year. He last faced the Big Blue last year and was chased in the fifth, losing an 8-4 decision at Dodger Stadium. Wood came to the Dodgers at the 2015 deadline and he sputtered, ending up in the bullpen last year because of performance and injury. Not so this year. He's given up two or fewer runs in 16 of his 21 starts, including nine scoreless outings. Wood is 6-0 with a 1.72 ERA in nine road starts this season, so PNC won't rattle him, with road opponents hitting just .201. He is 2-2/2.61 in seven career games (six starts) against Pittsburgh. The southpaw last faced the Pirates on May 8th at Dodger Stadium, allowing two hits in five scoreless innings while striking out 11 in a 12-1 LA romp.

Notes:

• The Pirates have scored six or more runs in five consecutive games and homered in four straight.
• Reliever George Kontos wasn't available last night due to "lower body discomfort" (tight groin) but is good to go tonight.
• LA (87-35) has been on an unreal roll. They've won 6-of-7, 21-of-25 and 52-of-62 since June 7th. They swept the three-game series at Dodger Stadium back in May. But the Pirates are 8-1 in the past nine meetings at PNC Park against the City of Angels nine, soooo... 
• The Bucs will miss shelved starters Clayton Kershaw and Yu Darvish while Cody Bellinger is day-to-day with a bum ankle. It is likely Pittsburgh will see old matey Tony Watson, who is 1-1/7.20 with two holds in six outings for his new club.
• Beginning Friday, the Pirates are scheduled to play 28 straight games against Central division teams thru September 24th with the final six games against Baltimore (two) and Washington (four).