Pittsburgh Closes Out Philly Set w/Williams v Pivetta, Notes

Today: The game starts at 1:35 and will be on AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan. The Bucs are hoping to avoid a four-game brooming.

Lineup: S-Rod 2B, Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte CF, Corey Dickerson LF, David Freese 1B, Colin Moran 3B, Jordy Mercer SS, Elias Diaz C & Trevor Williams P. The last getaway day lineup worked out just fine, so hopefully it can repeat and get the Pirates out of their doldrums.

Pitchers: RHP Trevor Williams (3-1, 1.93) finishes up the visit against RHP Nick Pivetta (1-0, 2.49). Trevor is settling into a comfy mid-rotation spot. His counting numbers and innings worked are solid, although his 1.93 ERA should regress toward his FIP of 3.75. He could stand a whiff or two more per game and a walk less, but that's quibbling. Willy has faced Philly once last year and was so-so, giving up three runs in 5-2/3 IP and taking a loss. Pivetta, 25, has jumped out the box with a bang after a fairly dismal 2017. He cut his four-seamer usage down a ton from last year and went to the deuce in its stead. So far, stressing the hook has resulted in fewer hits, homers (he has yet to give one up this year) and walks; ergo, fewer runs. Nick has never tossed against the Pirates, but is part of a pretty impressive Philadelphia rotation; today's a nice matchup of two young up-and-comers.

Trevor will try to stop the streak today (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Notes:

• The Pirates are 5-7 in their last dozen games; time to see if the hitters can dig themselves out. Corey Dickerson is one guy who's been in the groove - he has a team-leading seven multi-hit games and has a hit in 12 of the last 15 games.
• Chris Mack of 93.7 The Fan thinks it's time for the vets to assert themselves.
• Part of the reason the sticks are icy is due to an unheralded but very good Philadelphia staff. The starters have the best ERA in the NL at 3.02 and the highest WAR at 3.1. The Pirates starters, by comparison, have posted a 3.73 ERA/1.2 WAR.
• Quick starters: in the first five innings of games, the Pirates have outscored the opposition 63-38, but then watch clubs storm back from the sixth frame on, being outplated 55-39. Overall, Pittsburgh has a 102-93 scoring edge.
• The Bucs are off tomorrow, then host Detroit and St. Louis for three game sets.
• The Pirates, who have gotten five innings or more out of their starter in every game but one, are trying to pass that work ethic down. The Altoona Curve are the only team in AA baseball whose starting pitchers (Dario Agrazal, JT Brubaker, Taylor Hearn, Mitch Keller & Brandon Waddell) have gone at least five innings in every game so far this season.