See Ya, Buccos - Brew Crew In the Last Home Match of 2018, The King v Miley, Lineup & Notes

Today: The farewell to 2018 at PNC Park begins at 1:35 and will be aired by AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan. It's the last Kids' Day and the tykes will get a Pirates knit cap to serve as summer reminders during the coming gray months.

Pitchers: RHP Nick Kingham (5-6, 4.69) closes the last homestand against LHP Wade Miley (5-2, 2.08). Nick's replacing Big Joe Musgrove, who was shut down yesterday. Kingham hasn't started since September 2nd and only appeared one other time since, on the 8th. But he has seen Milwaukee plenty. In three outings (two starts) he's 2-0, but with a scary 5.27 ERA. He's been tagged for eight runs in 13-2/3 IP, but on the other side of the coin, he does own 18 whiffs against the Brew Crew. Miley has made 14 Brewers starts and surrendered two or fewer earned runs in 13 of them, letting in three earned runs in the other. He's faced Pittsburgh twice this season and allowed two runs over five innings in each outing.

Nick Kingham gets the last home start of the campaign (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Lineup: Pablo Reyes RF, Starling Marte CF, J-Bell 1B, Elias Diaz C, Jordan Luplow LF,Jose Osuna 3B,Josh Harrison 2B, Jordy Mercer SS & Kingham P. Lefty lineup.We thought Clint was saving J-Hay & Jordy for the home finale; nice touch for a pair of vets who aren't likely to be returning.

Notes:

• Nick Kingham will make both starts that were on tap for Joe Musgrove, today and Friday in Cincy.
• Ric Rod's 85 strikeouts are the club's single-season rookie record for a relief pitcher, topping the old mark of 84, set by Blas Minor in 1993.
• Ryan Lavarnway has gone 3-for-3 as a pinch hitter since joining the Pirates on September 4th.
• Edgar Santana will have an MRI on his arm tomorrow.
• Big Joe told the press gang that he first noticed his ab injury just prior to the All-Star break and it got progressively worse. He added that surgery is still a possibility if the rest period doesn't solve the problem, like the wait-and-see process recently undergone by Chad Kuhl.
• After tonight, the Bucs have four games at Wrigley against the Cubs starting tomorrow and close out the year at Great American Ball Park versus the Reds; there are no remaining off days.