Pirates Open Against the Padres at Petco, J-Grove v Lauer & Notes - Kuhl to DL, Mad Max Back

Today: The first pitch is due at 10:10 with the game on AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan. The Padres won three of the four games played at PNC Park earlier in June.

Pitchers: RHP Joe Musgrove (2-3, 4.59 ERA) vs. LHP Eric Lauer (3-4, 5.05).. After a promising start, J-Grove is 0-3 in June, having given up 11 runs in 8-1/3 innings in his last two starts, so we're still trying to figure out his Bucco destiny. He was 4-8/6.12 in 15 starts for the Astros before being moved to the pen (where he excelled, slashing 3-0/1.44 in 23 outings) in 2017, so he's got to pick it up some unless he wants history to repeat. This will be Joe's first look at San Diego.  Lauer has gone 2-1/2.28 in June, so he's starting to turn it around. The Bucs scored four times on six hits in 4-2/3 IP against him in May in the 23-year-old's only career appearance against the Buccos.

J-Grove on the hill tonight (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Lineup: Starling Marte CF, Josh Bell 1B, Josh Harrison 2B, David Freese 3B, Elias Diaz C, Corey Dickerson LF, Gregory Polanco RF, Jordy SS & Musgrove P. Back-to-back lefties, soooo...

Notes:

• The Pirates placed Chad Kuhl on the 10-day DL with a right forearm strain (retro to June 27th) and have recalled Max Moroff from AAA Indy. Mad Max hit .216 with two homers and six RBI in 16 games in his earlier April-May stint.

Max is back in town (photo Joe Guzy/Pirates)

• Well, make up your mind - After going 3-for-28 in 11 games between June 3-16, Gregory Polanco is hitting .458 with a .590 OBP in his last 10 games.
• This is a homecoming for three Bucco hurlers - Joe Musgrove, Steven Brault and Trevor Williams are all from the area. J-Grove and Willy are slated to start during the trip home and Steven has a good chance to get a call from the pen, so the families should get to see their boys in action.
• Despite some local ties, SD hasn't been our kind of town. Pittsburgh was 1-2 in San Diego last year and haven't won a series here since 2014. Since the ballpark opened in 2004, the Pirates have gone 18-27 at Petco Park.
• Mark Feinsand of MLB.com thinks Ivan Nova is boosting his stock as a trade piece for the Bucs. 
• The Pirates average 17,138 fans per game at PNC Park, the fourth-lowest home attendance in MLB and their lowest per-game average since 1996 at TRS. The average gate in 2017 was 23,696.
• Altoona's 1B Will Craig, 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes, LHP Taylor Hearn (starter) and LHP Sean Keselica (reliever) were named to the Eastern League All-Star Game.
• Long-ago Bucco Steve Pearce was dealt to the Red Sox. He's now played with every team in the AL East.