Willy v Cole Train, Lineup & Notes - Lots of MiLB News

Game: The Bucs open a three -game stand against the 'Stros at Minute Maid Park at 8:10. The contest will be carried on AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Kevin Newman SS, Corey Dickerson LF, Starling Marte CF, Josh Bell DH, Melky Cabrera RF, Colin Moran 3B, Jose Osuna 1B, Elias Diaz C, Adam Frazier 2B, Trevor Williams P. Clint keeps Joey O's hot bat in the lineup while J-Bell gets a semi-blow. Bryan Reynolds was originally in the lineup and then scratched; he has a sore shin from a foul ball acquired during the SD series. We're not sure if he'll be available from the bench, tho he is listed on the game roster.

Willy takes the bump - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

Pitchers: RHP Trevor Williams (2-1/4.12) opens against RHP Gerrit Cole (8-5/3.54). Willy got the rust rattled off him by Motown early on in his return from the IL, but settled down and retired the last nine hitters, so hopefully that carries over. He's never toed the slab v Houston. Gerrit's had a couple of rough outings out of 16 starts that have been a drag on his ERA, but in his last five mound visits, he's 2-0/2.32 w/48 whiffs in 31 IP; Cole Train leads MLB in K's with 148. This is his first bout with his old mateys. As a side note, his AL pitch mix has changed by subtraction per Fangraphs - he's pretty much scrapped the sinker at Houston, with an equivalent increase in four-seamers, curves and sliders. Seems like that Pirate cookie-cutter two-seamer philosophy has been getting a lot of holes poked in it recently.

Notes:

• Kevin Newman's hitting streak is at 14 games going into tonight.
• The Astros are glad to get home; they lost seven in a row (1-6 road trip) before topping the Yankees in their last match. And they are getting George Springer back, who spent a month on the IL with a strained hammy. The Bucs are on a four game roll, but caveat emptor - they were 2-8 on their last road jaunt.
• Mitch Keller went 7-1/3 IP at Indy, giving up a run on six hits with no walks while striking out six. He used his breaking stuff more than he did in Pittsburgh, the big diff being that he got some strikes with them last night.
• RHP JT Brubaker had a second solid rehab start at West Virginia; he may be rejoining Indy shortly as the pitching depth slowly rebuilds.
• SS Oneil Cruz is back in rehab action this week after missing time with a broken foot.
• RHP Cody Bolton was promoted from Bradenton to Altoona this week. The 21-year-old was 6-3/1.61 with 69 K in 61-2/3 IP for the Marauders, and is a guy to watch. He was a California preppie picked in the sixth round of the 2017 draft and signed for an over-slot $300K.
• The Altoona Curve are sending three guys to the Eastern League AS squad. Repping the Western Division will be RHP James Marvel (7-5/3.36), RHP Pedro Vasquez (6-1/2.24), and C Jason Delay (.263/5 HR). The game is set for July 10th.