Bucs Going For 3-In-A-Row at Wrigley, Ivan v Quintana, Lineup & Notes

Today: It's an 8:05 start that will be carried by AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan.

Pitchers: RHP Ivan Nova (9-9, 4.01) vs. LHP José Quintana (13-11, 4.11). Nova has allowed two runs with 15 strikeouts in 16-1/3 innings over three starts this month, with his last outing a shortie thx to a two-hour rain delay. Since coming off the DL on June 10th, he is 7-4/3.40. He's been very good against Chicago, recording a 2-1/2.33 line in three starts. Quintana is a Jekyll/Hyde guy, either very good or very bad. Q faced the Pirates once this year and was good, giving up one run on four hits over five innings, although he wasn't around for the decision.

Ivan's last trip to the hill in 2018 (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Starling Marte CF, Jose Osuna 1B, Elias Diaz C, Corey Dickerson LF, Reyes 3B, Jordan Luplow RF, Kevin Newman SS, Nova P. This is a true September lineup.

Notes:

• The Pirates have Nick Kingham on tap to start Friday, Jameson Taillon on Saturday and Chris Archer on Sunday in Cincinnati for the season's final series.
• The Bucs have won seven of their last nine games and eight of their last 11.
• Pablo has three homers in 47 MLB at bats; he had eight in 447 at bats for Indy/Altoona this season.
• Kevin Newman has started 16 games at short; the Pirates are 13-3 in those games. K-Man is hitting .220 with three errors/-3 DRS in those contests.
• HBD to Arch and J-Low.
• MLB.com's Adam Berry has a comeback tale of 2015's September out-of-nowhere story, Big John Holdzkom.