Arizona Opens Four-Game Set, Kuhl v Godley & Notes

Today: The series starts at 7:05 and will be on AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan. It's also the free game on MLB.com. The weather is forecast to stay dry long enough to get the contest in.

Pitchers: RHP Chad Kuhl (5-4, 3.76) kicks it off against RHP Zack Godley (7-5, 4.77). Chad's been showing off his slider and it's been effective. He's posted a 2.45 ERA over his last five starts with 28 K in 29-1/3 IP. Chad has one career start against Arizona, allowing two runs in five innings in a 2017 no-decision. Godley had a solid season for the D-Backs last year, his first as a full-timer in the rotation, but it's been peaks and valleys this time around. He's been decent in his last pair of outings, giving up four runs in 12-1/3 IP but had some road woes, tossing to a 6.53 ERA in eight starts. Godley faced the Pirates once last year, giving up three runs on seven hits in six frames at PNC Park.

Chad on the bump (image Positively Pittsburgh)

Lineup: Josh Harrison 2B, Austin Meadows LF, Starling Marte CF, Colin Moran 3B, Fran Cervelli C, Josh Bell 1B, Gregory Polanco RF, Jordy SS & Kuhl P. The A-Team lineup.

Notes:

• The Pirates have won six of the last eight games played against the Diamondbacks at PNC Park; they dropped 2-of-3 in a brutal series at Phoenix earlier in the month. It's also the start of a stretch of 19 straight games against teams outside the NL Central.
• Colin Moran has reached base safely in each of his last 18 starts, batting .306 with eight walks, and has a seven-game hitting streak.
• Not to jinx ya, but: Steven Brault has yet to surrender a homer to a left-handed batter in his big league career.
• Last night's rainout with the Brewers will be made up on Saturday, July 14th, as a  doubleheader with the lidlifter at 12:35.
• Dustin Gouker of the Legal Sports Report takes a dim view of the Pirates efforts to get some sports gambling money shuffled their way.
• Curt Smith, who wrote "Voices of Summer" and Voices of the Game," was one of SABR's featured speakers today and discussed how the voices of the Pirates - Harold Arlin, Rosey Rowswell, Bob Prince, Jim Woods, Milo Hamilton, Lanny Frattare, and Steve Blass - helped popularize the team.