Twins @ Pirates; Nova v Odorizzi & Notes

Today: Round two against Minnesota begins at 6:05. The contest will be carried by AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan. It's Buck Night at the ballyard and forecast to be a chilly, windy evening with a sprinkling of flurries. If the 20 MPH winds (gusting to 40) are blowing out, the Allegheny could be splashdown city tonight.

Lineup: Josh Harrison 2B, Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte CF, Josh Bell 1B, Corey Dickerson LF, Cervelli C, Colin Moran 3B, S-Rod SS & Ivan Nova P. Jordy is available off the bench, but his jammed pinky finger is still bruised and a little stiff so he's having problems gripping a bat.

Pitchers: RHP Ivan Nova (0-0/3.60) vs. Jake Odorizzi (0-0/0.00). Ivan dodged some raindrops in the Opener against the Tigers; we'll see if he's a little sharper against the Twinkies. Nova was fastball-heavy in his opening stint; we'll see if he shows the curve more against the Twins lefty-loaded lineup. Jake tossed six innings of two-hit shutout ball against the O's in an eventual 3-2 loss to the Birds. He likes to change levels with a high heater, curve & splitter. Nova is 2-0/1.93 against the Twins, but hasn't tossed against them since 2011; let's hope he keeps the old feelin'. This will be Jake's first outing against Pittsburgh.

Notes:

• Going into tonight's action, the Pirates are the last remaining undefeated team in MLB. 
• OF Bryce Brentz decided to stick with the Mets. He's not on their 40-man roster and will open the season at AAA Las Vegas. 
• If you like a baseball history and want to see what the old-timey bird dogs thought of players, the Library of Congress has published a passel of Branch Rickey scouting reports from the 50s & 60's with a bunch of Buccos. Bring a lunch; there are a ton of them.
• Penn State and West Virginia will play ball on Tuesday, April 10th, at PNC Park. It's the second year the clubs have squared off on the North Shore; maybe next time around the Bucs will add Pitt-Duquesne and make it a twinbill.
• The Braves DFA'ed C Chris Stewart.
• Guess who got the Tigers off the schneid yesterday? Frankie Liriano allowed a run and four hits in 6-2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked two while throwing 94 pitches in a 6-1 win over the Royals. Charlie Morton got the Home Opener victory for Houston; he went six IP, no runs, three hits, two walks and six whiffs in a 6-1 win over Baltimore on Monday.
•  30-year-old Vance Worley has triggered his opt-out clause with the Reds as Vanimal searches for a big-league deal.