Bucs & Twins Open Quickie Set; Jamo v Odorizzi, Lineup & Notes - Cervy Catching, Shane Baz PTBNL for Arch

Today: The game begins at 8:10 and will be on AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan.

Pitchers: Jameson Taillon (9-8, 3.63) hooks up with RHP Jake Odorizzi (4-7, 4.50).  Jamo has been a model of consistency with 13 straight games with three or fewer earned runs allowed, and his two complete games not only leads the club but the NL. After going the distance against the Rox, he got a couple of extra days to rest the slingshot. He topped the Twinkies in April, giving up two runs on four hits in 5-1/3 IP with nine whiffs. Odorizzi is having the toughest campaign of his career. He's always been susceptible to the long ball and a bit of a wild child. While the walks are on the high side (3.7/nine), his prob is more with overall command as he runs up big pitch counts. As a result, he has gotten into the sixth inning just once since June. Odorizzi has never tossed against Pittsburgh.

Jamo starts the set (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Lineup: Corey Dickerson LF, Starling Marte CF, Grgeory Polanco RF, David Freese 3B, J-Bell 1B1B, Fran Cervelli C, Colin Moran DH, Josh Harrison 2B & Jordy SS (Taillon P). Cervy's back behind the dish and Red Beard gets to swing from the DH spot.

Notes:

• Shane Baz was the PTBNL in the Chris Archer deal with Tampa. The Bucs paid a lot for for Arch with Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow and Baz; time will tell if it was worth the price. For the Bucs, they believe Archer will slot as a top two arm, but their pitching pipeline took a big hit with Ty, Baz and Taylor Hearn (to Texas) being traded, although they (and Meadows) were  from deep positional pools. S/O to John Dreker of Pirates Prospects for being the first to tell the tale. Our hot take: Outfield is a deep spot and Baz at this point is a lotto ticket with Hearn projected as a reliever; how well Ty develops is the wild card as the Pirates had no clue how to tap in to his stuff. He was the textbook change of scenery candidate.
• The Twins have lost 5-of-7; they split with Pittsburgh in early April. The Bucs have won 4-of-6.
• The Pirates could use the top of the order to reignite if they want to make some noise during the dog days - Corey Dickerson is 5-for-31, Gregory Polanco is 5-for-38, and Starling Marte is 3-for-23.
• Kevin Gorman of the Tribune Review makes an argument for the Pirates to have a "Wall of Fame" or some such recognition for the excellent players whose numbers haven't been retired.
• AJ Schugel is headed to Indy for rehab after a stint at Bradenton. If he recovers his form, he could be a useful September add.
• Bristol RHP Shane Baz Baz was named the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Week. Over his two games, Baz pitched 9-2/3 innings without allowing a run while fanning 12 batters.
• The Yankees added George Kontos to the big team yesterday.