Thursday - Cards in Town, Jamo v Waino, Lineup, Notes

Tonight: The Cards come to town with a 7:05 first pitch. The game will be carried by AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Starling Marte LF, Josh Harrison 2B, Cutch CF, Josh Bell 1B, David Freese 3B, Adam Frazier RF, Jordy Mercer SS, Chris Stewart C, Jameson Taillon P. Cervy isn't ready for showtime and Fraze gets another start with Gregory down.

Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (7-5, 4.50) opens against Adam Wainwright (12-5, 4.87 ERA)  Jamo has settled in after his beatdown a couple of starts ago and has suddenly become a whiffmeister with 15 K in his past 12 IP.  He's been so-so against the Cards this year with a 0-1 slate and six runs surrendered in 11 frames. Waino is good to go despite missing his bullpen session with right arm soreness. He's become more of a workhorse than ace, though he's pretty much a six-inning guy anymore. Still, he's seen the Bucs plenty of times. This season they've met once and Adam gave up one earned run on two hits in a seven-inning June outing.

JT hopes to continue rollin' (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Notes:

• Cervy isn't ready to go and Max Moroff was pulled from the Indy lineup...a sorta misty dot-to-dot connection, but it could foreshadow a DL visit for Amore (which, of course, is the sensible thing instead of dragging out a nagging injury as is the Pirates MO).  
• The Bucs have gone 4-5 against the Redbirds this season, going 2-1 in Pittsburgh and 2-4 in St. Louis...After being swept in the opening set, the Pirates won the last two series, taking four of the six meetings between the clubs.
• Card closer Trevor Rosenthal went on the 10-day DL because of right elbow irritation.
• Productive out debate: 15 of the 24 outs the Brewers made yesterday were K's. Still, they got seven runs on just five swings - a pair two-run jacks and three solo homers. That's one place the Pirates will need some help next year; the middle of the order features only Cutch and J-Bell with the ability to lose a ball, and easy runs are hard to come by for Pittsburgh.
• BTW - a little understood part of the "blocking the plate" rule is that the catcher has to leave a lane while waiting on or catching the ball. But once it's in his possession, blocking the plate is permissable; hence all the somersaults and slide-bys. Clint seems to have trouble getting with that interpretation, but it is the law. It was a thing yesterday when J-Bell and Manny Pina had meeting at home and Pina had the plate covered.