Pittsburgh - St Louis Rubber Match, Willy v Flaherty, Lineup & Notes - Sadler Back, McRae Down

Sorry we're late; the Pirates took a bit to announce who was called up today; you'd think they'd had the wheels in motion last night.

Today: The game begins at 1:35 and will be carried by AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan. It's Kids Day and the young fans (14-and-under) get Bucco baseball cards.

Pitchers: RHP Trevor Williams (9-7, 3.89) closes the set against Jack Flaherty (4-6, 3.49). Trevor is on a three-game, 17-inning scoreless streak, so laissez les bons temps rouler. He's not been all that against St. Louis, though, with a 1-1/6.60 slash in three games this year. Flaherty is a fastball-slider-curve guy who took big steps in improving his righty/lefty splits from last year, and it shows in his improved across-the-board peripherals. He last saw Pittsburgh on May 31st, twirling six innings of one-run baseball, and is 1-1/3.94 against the Corsairs this year. This, btw, is the fourth Willy-Flaherty matchup of the year; they're 1-1 against each other with one no decision.

Willy looks to take the rubber match (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Lineup: Corey Dickerson LF, Starling Marte CF, Gregory Polanco RF, Fran Cervelli C, Colin Moran 3B, Adam Frazier 2B, Jose Osuna 1B, Jordy SS & Williams P. Not a terribly diluted Sunday lineup, though we're surprised Freeser's hot bat isn't in it.

Notes:

• Casey Sadler was recalled today and Alex McRae returned to Indy in a swap of righty long men.
• The Pirates and the Cardinals are tied for third place in the NL Central, four games from the second wild card spot.
• Cervy looked good at first last night, showing a quick mitt; it was the eighth time in his career that he's played the position.
• Trevor Williams' 17 IP scoreless string is the fourth-longest active streak in MLB and the longest by a Pittsburgh pitcher since Jameson Taillon tossed 18-1/3 whitewash innings last year.
• Don't Run On...Pittsburgh’s outfielders have recorded a NL-leading 26 assists this season, including three in the last two games. Starling Marte shares the league lead with 10 assists, which are also the most by a Pirates CF'er since Andrew McCutchen had 11 in 2013. Corey Dickerson is tied for second with seven assists among LFs and Gregory Polanco is tied for third among RFs with six assists.
• After today, the Pirates get on the big bird to begin a 10-day, nine-game road trip to Denver, San Francisco, and Minneapolis with the matches beginning Monday night.
• SD's Tyson Ross was claimed on waivers by St. Louis while their swing man, Jordan Lyles, was claimed by the Brewers.
• Hutch is back in the bigs: The Texas Rangers added RHP Drew Hutchison to their 25-man roster.