The King v Robbie Ray, Lineup & Notes - Elmore Up, JHK to IL, K-Man to 3rd

Game: The match is set for 9:40 EDT at Chase Field. The opening contest of the three-game series will be aired by AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Starling Marte CF, Melky Cabrera RF, Josh Bell 1B, Bryan Reynolds LF, Fran Cervelli C, Kevin Newman 3B, Cole Tucker SS, Nick Kingham P. K-Man gets his first shot at the hot corner; he's never played the position, even in the minors.

And today's third baseman... Bowman 2017 Prospects

Pitchers: RHP Nick Kingham (1-0/5.94) kicks off the set against LHP Robbie Ray (2-1/3.30). Nick gave up two runs on four hits, with three walks and five K, in his only start of the year against Texas. Kingham does have swing-and-miss stuff, with better than a whiff per inning so far this year, though he has iffy command and yields almost five free passes per game. He's faced two Snake batters this year, giving up a walk with an out. Ray has been tough - his control is shaky (4.7 walks/game) but he counters that by averaging 11 K per nine IP. That combination gets his pitch count up; he hasn't made it to the seventh in eight starts. He's faced the Bucs five times, although not since 2017, and slashed 1-2/5.33 against them. Robbie does have a complete game shutout v Pittsburgh, tossed in '17.

Notes:

• Jake Elmore, 31, was called up; he was hitting .380 at Indy to lead the International League, though in five MLB seasons, his BA is .215. He last played in the show in 2016 for the Brewers, and fits into the Pirates versatility mold - he's played all nine positions in the majors, plus DH, although primarily a reserve infielder. Jung Ho Kang has been placed on the 10-day IL with a left side strain and Jamo was transferred to the 60-day IL, so he's out until at least early July.
• J-Bell has a hit in a dozen consecutive games while Starling has a seven-game hitting streak.
• The Pirates are 20-17 and have won 8-of-11 after their 8-game slide.
• The D-Backs swept the Bucs at PNC Park in a four-gamer in late April to help launch the Pirates eight-game losing streak. And worse; three of the losses were pretty much blowouts.
• Lonnie Chisenhall begins his rehab 2.0 at Indy today after a delay caused by a calf issue that developed five games into his first visit to Indianapolis in April.
• LHP Tyler Lyons cleared waivers and was assigned to Indy.