Willy v Steven Matz, Lineup & Notes

Game: The game starts at 7:10 and will be carried by AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Kevin Newman 2B, Melky Cabrera RF, Starling Marte CF, Josh Bell 1B, Bryan Reynolds LF, Jose Osuna 3B, Jung Ho Kang SS, Jake Stallings C, Trevor Williams P. The lefty lineup is on, even though Matz has a sizeable reverse split of .317 v LHB and .270 v RHP, extending across all stat categories. No definite word on the severity of Corey D's groin tweak yet, though he was taking indoor BP and playing catch.

Willy looks to stay in the groove - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

Pitchers: RHP Trevor Williams (3-3/4.96) meets LHP Steven Matz (5-6/4.75). Willy got back on track against the Cards in his last outing, and may have knocked off the rust from his return from the IL. He faced the Mets once last year, shutting them out on five hits over six frames. Matz was worked hard in early June, tossing a total of 332 pitches over three consecutive starts, and his performance took a dive. The Mets gave him some bullpen recovery time and have been more considerate of his pitch count of late, and his last two starts have been solid. He was 1-0 against Pittsburgh in 2018, but with a 4.85 ERA.

Notes:

• The Felipe Vazquez deal with the Dodgers is getting some legs, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com, if LA is ready to pony up a couple of Grade A prospects. Jack Dorfman of Dodgers Way thinks n even higher price tag would be worth the cost for LA. For sure, unless Bob Nutting wants the fans to storm the castle with pitchforks and torches, the haul better be huge.
• The Pirates claimed RHP Parker Markel off waivers from the Seattle Mariners and optioned him to Indy. Rookie Davis was transferred to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Markel. The 28-year-old reliever gave up three homers in 4-1/3 IP w/Seattle this year, but slashed 2-0-8/2.60 at AAA Tacoma, with 44 K in 27-1/3 IP. He's the typical Bucco pick up -  a wild child (21 BB, 11 WP w/the Rainiers) who can miss bats as well as the plate. That tendency might help explain why the Bucs are second in the NL in walks surrendered (3.66) and third in walk percentage (9.2%) per Fangraphs.
• Keon Broxton keeps on moving; the Mariners just claimed him off waivers from the Orioles, and he started the year with the Mets.