Wednesday: Pirates v Twins, Lineup & Pitchers; Yesterday's Game & Notes

Game: Pittsburgh visits the Twins for a 1:05 match at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. The game will be carried by MLB Gameday.

Lineup: Pablo Reyes SS, JB Shuck CF, Colin Moran 1B, Jose Osuna RF, Kevin Newman 2B, Pat Kivlehan 3B, Jake Stallings C, Lolo Sanchez LF & Joe Musgrove P. The mix 'n' match away lineup. The Twins are home and using a DH; Clint opted to let Big Joe get a swing or two in.

Pitchers: RHP Joe Musgrove faces RHP Michael Pineda w/Nick Burdi, Michael Feliz and Brandon Maurer finishing up.

Watch the Burdi... 2019 Topps

Yesterday's Game: Steven Brault was wild - three walks in 3-2/3 IP - but effective, giving up no runs on two hits with four fans. Felipe carried on, whiffing three of the four batters he faced, leaving the Bucs up 2-0, with one run scoring on a DP ball and another on a Melky Cabrera knock as the Pirates blew a couple shots at big frames with twin killings after runners were on first and third, thx to Starling's GIDP and Melky getting doubled up off first. The Pirates added another tally after two-out, fifth-inning double by Starling, followed by a stolen sack/muffed catch, to manufacture a gift run. Keone Kela and Frankie added zeroes before the Tigers scored in the ninth off Rookie Davis, but it was too little, too late for the Twins. A strikeout looking finished off the 3-1 win. Fraze, Corey D and J-Bell each had two hits while JHK whiffed three times on the other side of the coin.

Notes:

• The Opening Day pitchers will be Jamo for the Bucs and Luis Castillo for the Reds on March 28th at GABP.
• Tony Clark of the MLBPA met with the Bucs yesterday, and his concerns, not too surprisingly, are mostly centered on payroll per 93.7 The Fan.
• The Arizona Fall League will start in mid-September and expand the pool of eligible players, per Baseball America. The league says it's to shorten the season for AFL players; we suspect it's a sop to allow MiLB guys who lose out to the 28-man September rosters beginning in 2020 an extended look.
• Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels reportedly agreed on a record-setting 12-year contract worth more than $430M, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. Who needs free agency? 
• Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw won’t be ready for opening day; he's worked eight straingt Openers for LA,but shoulder inflammation has slowed down his spring work.