Steven Brault v Trevor Richards, Lineup & Notes

Game: The series starts at 7:10 at Marlins Park. It will be carried by AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Kevin Newman SS, Bryan Reynolds RF, Starling Marte CF, Josh Bell 1B, Colin Moran 3B, Corey Dickerson LF, Elias Diaz C, Adam Frazier 2B, Steven Brault P. Gregory has played in five straight games and only has two hits in his last seven, so it's good day to give him a blow. Richards has been tough on hitters of both persuasions, and actually has somewhat of a reverse split, being a little harder on lefties than righties, so the swing side isn't a big deal.

Gregory gets a blow - 2017 Donruss Diamond Kings

Pitchers: LHP Steven Brault (2-1/5.05) opens against RHP Trevor Richards (3-6/3.31). Lately Steven's been getting better with throwing strikes, hasn't been hurt by long balls, and went into the seventh in his last start. Over his last 24-2/3 IP, he's tossed to a 2.55 ERA, giving up 20 hits (one homer) and 15 walks to go with 16 whiffs. Brault's never faced Miami. Richards has been hotter. In his last 24-2/3IP, he's 2-1/1.09, giving up 13 hits, seven walks and fanning 24. Trevor met the Bucs once last year, tossing seven innings of two-hit, scoreless ball. So it's two guys on a solid roll bumping heads tonight.

Notes:

• Dario Agrazal of Indy will be called up to start tomorrow, per John Drecker of Pirates Prospects. The righty started the year at Altoona and was quickly beckoned to AAA, where he went 4-2/3.10. The 24-year-old isn't a power guy, but depends on command and weak contact, vouched for by his 54% ground ball rate with fewer than two walks/nine. The move would require some shuffling, as Agrazal isn't on the 40-man roster.
• Jason Rollison of Bucs Dugout wonders if the Pirates erred in bringing back Gregory so soon.
• The Pirates end a so-far brutal 10-game road trip here; they're 0-7 so far. But the Bucs did take 4-of-5 against the Fish last year (2-of-3 here), with one rainout never made up. They are mirror images this year, at least of late; Buc bats have been hot and the pitching not; the reverse is true of the Fish.
• The Pirates sold RHP Nick Kingham to the Toronto Blue Jays for undisclosed cash considerations. Nick should land on his feet; the Jay's rotation isn't very good, and a couple of their mainstays look like prime trading deadline candidates. Toronto is debating whether to throw him into right into the mix or start him as a long man.
• Ke'Bryan Hayes has a hairline fracture of his left index finger and will be reevaluated next week, per Jason Mackey of the Post Gazette.