Bucs & Birds Afternoon Delight, Kuhl v Weaver & Notes - Bruce Kison Passes Away

Today: First pitch is at 2:15 and the game will be aired by AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan. Weather's a little rough in the Gateway City, but they should be able to dodge the raindrops to get the game in.

Lineup: J-Hay 2B, Austin Meadows RF, Starling Marte CF, J-Bell 1B, Corey DFickerson LF,Colin Moran 3B, Elias Diaz C, Jordy SS & Chad Kuhl P. Harrison is back after a brief bout of the flu and Cervy is off, a combo of a day-after-night game and chance to recharge after his fight with the bug earlier in the week. It's Austin Meadow's turn to ride the OF carousel today with Gregory on the pine.

Back in the lineup (image source: Pittsburgh Pirates)

Pitchers: RHP Chad Kuhl (4-3, 3.94) and RHP Luke Weaver (3-5, 4.63) battle it out this afternoon. Chad's been on a roll lately - his last outing, tho a loss, was a six-inning stint in which he gave up a run on fours hits with five K against the Cubs. He's given up two runs in his last two starts and has a 2.76 ERA in his last five outings (the Pirates are 4-1in those games). Chad's line is 1-1/3.27 in four 2017 starts against the Redbirds; it's his first 2018 Card match. Weaver has run hot and cold this year; he's in a chilly spell right now as he's given up seven runs in his last two starts (11 IP). He lasted into the sixth in his outing against the Bucs in April, yielding four runs in a 5-0 loss, running against Nick Kingham and his brilliant debut game.

Notes:

• Sad news today: per Greg Brown, Bruce Kison passed away this morning, succumbing to cancer at age 68. Buster pitched for the Bucs from 1971-79 and was 4-1 during the post season over that span, with a memorable 6-1/3 IP bulldog relief outing in Game Four win of the 1971 World Series, the first night game in WS annals. Injuries dogged his career, but Kison never backed down from a challenge and spent 15 years in the show.

Bruce Kison 1972 Topps

• Corey Dickerson is batting .324 over his last 36 contests and .394 in his last eight starts.
• The Pirates recorded their MLB-leading eighth shutout last night.
• Ke'Bryan Hayes is starting to figure it out at Altoona, reports Andrew Battifarano of MiLB.com.
• Bradenton pitchers Matt Eckelman (3-0-5/2.16) and Eduardo Vera(3-2/2.95), along with infielder Alfredo Reyes (.295 BA/.405 OBP), have been named to the Florida State League’s mid-season All-Star team.