Rookie v Brandon Woodruff, Lineup & Notes - Corey, Kang To Join Team Tomorrow

Game: The opener is set for 8:10 at Miller Park. It will be carried by AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan. The Brew Crew recently took 3-of-4 in Pittsburgh largely due to pitching fails by the Bucs. And holy moly - no rain forecast, at least for tonight and Saturday.

Lineup: Kevin Newman SS, Bryan Reynolds CF, Melky Cabrera LF, Josh Bell 1B, Colin Moran 3B, Gregory Polanco RF, Elias Diaz C, Adam Frazier 2B, Rookie Davis P. Starling is getting a rest day. Reynolds has 48 MLB innings under his belt in center; he's rated -1 DRS there, mostly because he's got just acceptable range (he's +5 DRS in left, with less pasture to cover).

Rookie gets his first Pittsburgh start - image via MLB.com

Pitchers: RHP Rookie Davis (0-0/5.87) opens against RHP Brandon Woodruff (7-1/3.86).  Rookie hasn't started an MLB contest since 2017 (he started exclusively in AAA), but he sure has a golden opp now after bumping Nick Kingham from the rotation. He's taken on the Brewers once this year, going two IP with no runs leaked on two hits and two K. Woodruff was roughed up in Pittsburgh, giving up six runs on 10 hits in four frames in a game the Brewers eventually won 12-10. But before that, he had a string of six strong starts, so we'll see if his last go was just an outlier.

Notes:

• No surprises during this stand; all six starting pitchers saw action against their foes earlier in the week.
• Mirror image: Pittsburgh is 5-2 in their last 7 road games and 2-5 in their last 7 division games.
• Bryan Reynolds has a 14-game hitting streak alive & kicking.
• Corey Dickerson made the trip here after his physical yesterday and JHK joined the team today, so some dominoes must fall. Corey is coming off the 60-day DL so needs both 40 & 25-man slots cleared; JHK just needs an active roster spot opened. Clint said the plan is to activate them tomorrow, per the beat gang, so we'll see then.