Finale With Reds As Bucs Look to Broom; J-Grove v DeSclafani & Notes

Today: The Father's Day game starts at 1:35 and will be on AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan.  Happy dad's day - all papas and their 14-and-under kiddos get a Bucco cap.

Pitchers: RHP Joe Musgrove (2-1, 2.16) ends the set against RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1-1, 5.40). So far, J-Grove has shown a bulldog mentality along with using his toolkit well, changing speeds and movement for his edge. He's four starts into his Bucco career, so we'll see what we've got down the road; it's been a promising start. Joe's never faced the Reds. DeSclafani has worked two starts and given up 16 hits/seven run in 10 innings, though he hasn't hurt himself with walks or homers in those outings. Anthony hasn't tossed against Pittsburgh since 2016, when he went down with a bad elbow sprain that kept him out of action until this month.

J-Grove has the honors today (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Lineup: Josh Harrison 2B, Austin Meadows CF, Fran Cervelli C, Colin Moran 3B, Corey Dickerson LF, Josh Bell 1B,Gregory Polanco RF, Jordy SS & Musgrove P. Starling gets his day off, but all-in-all, a pretty strong lineup for a Sunday.

Notes:

• Cervy has come back in good shape and Eli hasn't missed any time, but we're wondering a bit if they're playing through some dings. Jacob Stallings is still on the active roster and the Pirates rarely carry a third catcher w/o cause.
• We scolded Ivan for staying upstairs all day against the Reds, but he had an out - his breaking stuff was AWOL yesterday, so he was limited pretty much to his four & two seam fastball. 
• The recent Bucs tailspin of losing eight consecutive series was last matched by John Russell's 2009 squad.
• @CoreyGiger of the Altoona Mirror reports that 3B prospect Ke'Bryan Hayes, a first-round pick in 2015, will visit a doc in Pittsburgh on Monday to have his knee checked out. He's missed the past four games for the Altoona Curve after getting hit by a pitch. 
• Seattle got a deal when they signed soft-tossing Wade LeBlanc. Frenchy is 3-0/2.63 in 14 outings, a very nice line when u consider he's started nine games for the Mariners. Cutch, btw, is back in business after his traditionally slow start, batting .266 w/eight homers and 34 RBI, nor has Cole Train jumped the tracks - he's 8-1/2.40 with 130 K in 93-2/3 IP.