Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Josh Harrison 3B, Cutch CF, J-Bell 1B, Adam Frazier 2B, Sean Rodriguez SS, John Jaso RF, Elias Diaz C, Chad Kuhl P. Jordy and Freeser are on regular rest days per Clint. We suppose a B-Team lineup can't do much worse than the regular guys have done lately.
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| Chad looking for some bounceback (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates) |
Pitchers: Chad Kuhl (5-8, 4.64) faces Michael Wacha (9-5, 3.85). Chad, like most of the staff, was thumped in his last outing, but still is 3-2/3.35 in his last nine starts. Caveat emptor - in 12 starts at PNC Park this season, Cool Chad is 3-4/5.15, so he's not much of a home boy. He's 0-2/5.50 in four career starts against the Redbirds. Chad is 0-1/4.91 in two starts this year; losing a 2-1 game at Busch in April and earning a no-decision in an 8-4 loss in St Louis in June. Wacha is usually a dog days beast, with a line of 6-1/2.85 over 17 August appearances, although so far this year he's averaging just five innings per outing while slashing 1-2/4.85 during his three starts this month. The righty pitched well in his only matchup with the Pirates this year, spinning a one-run outing over 6-2/3 innings back in April to take a 2-1 victory. He's 4-2/3.94 in 12 career appearances (11 starts) v the Buccos.
Notes:
- The Pirates, per their lineup card (it was later officially confirmed), have called up righty reliever Dovydas Neverauskas and returned LHP Steven Brault to AAA. We assume the thinking is that Brault can finish out the AAA season starting and rejoin the Pirates in September in the bullpen. Could also be that since he went four IP last night that the Bucs decided they need a fresh arm to burn after the recent run of short starts so they swapped him out. Either way, it's kinda weird how they've handled Brault this year.
- Among NL rookies this season, J-Bell ranks first in hits (107), triples, walks (50) and games played (120) while ranking second in RBI (68), doubles (22), extra-base hits (48) and total bases (201). He has nine RBI in his last seven games, with his 68 RBI the most driven in by a Pirates rookie since Jason Bay plated 82 runners in 2004.
- J-Hay has homered in back-to-back games and established a new personal single-season high in home runs with 14.
- Starling has gone 8-for-17 (.471) in his last four games after a 1-for-10 stretch and reached base in 10 of his last 19 PAs.
I agree entirely about Steven Brault. The guy has been a total terminator in Triple A this season and he has been lights out since Spring Training---but it doesn't seem that the current regime has any real plans for him. I'll admit that he hasn't been overwhelming or dominant in his big league time, but it's a small sample size and according to what I read, he (Brault) was on a mission last winter to get in top shape and it's obviously paid off.
ReplyDeleteI know I've said this before, but I'll say it again: it seems to me that Clint Hurdle is one of those managers who has "his guys" and that's it. Nothing and no one is going to move him off of his assessment of a given player, no matter what they do. The first example of this was Pedro Ciriaco---not going to Cooperstown but certainly a useful utility guy who has hit for average in the big leagues. He was followed by Alex Presley, likewise a journeyman but that's not the point. The point is that both guys could definitely have helped the Pirates and would have been cheaper than the alternatives Hurdle and the front office chose, especially when they signed Clint Barmes for entirely too much money and kicked Ciriaco to the curb. It looks to me like Brault is in the same boat. The only exception to this rule seems to have been Pedro Alvarez, but I think Hurdle was right about him and only played him because he had been such a high draft choice. I never liked Alvarez myself.
My take on Clint's guys is that he likes vets and gives them every benefit of the doubt. Rooks who aren't tabbed as future all-stars have to really work to get his attention, so hats off to kids like Frazier who barge their way into playing time. That's the MO - Jordy and J-Hay had to force their way into starting while El Toro, Tabata, Starling, Gregory and J-Bell got passes; press clippings matter. I thought Chris Bostick should have been given a better look, tho Max Moroff is OK, too. As for Brault, I would think he's the next guy up, but hasn't got a melt-down starter to replace yet (though Nova is working on the Frankie Liriano track). I suspect the Pirates look at him as a left-handed Trevor Williams. Still, with Frenchy, Huddy and Benoit in the bullpen, there would seem to be a space for him on the big club. My guess is that it's a combo of Clint trusting vets and the FO's love of hoarding that's keeping a couple of guys down on the farm until September.
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