Mitch v Jose Suarez, Lineup & Notes - Ric Rod on IL

Game: The Bucs travel to Angels Stadium to take on LA at 10:07. The game will be aired by AT&T Sportsnet, MLB Network (out of market) and 93.7 The Fan. Nice matchup for the night owl fans; Pittsburgh rooters haven't seen Mike Trout or Albert Pujols since 2016 (Prince Albert has a career .360 BA w/50 HR v the Pirates) and will get their first look at Shohei Ohtani.

Lineup: Kevin Newman 2B, Bryan Reynolds LF, Starling Marte CF, Josh Bell DH, Jose Osuna 1B, Melky Cabrera RF, Pablo Reyes 3B, Jake Stallings C, Erik Gonzalez SS, Mitch Keller P. Hard to tell if this is the all-righty lineup or evaluation time; maybe a bit of both.

Mitch on the mound - photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates

Pitchers: RHP Mitch Keller (0-1/10.50) goes against LHP Jose Suarez (2-3/6.22). Mitch replaces Dario Agrazal in the rotation and isn't being brought up as a savior. He's added to his toolkit with mixed results at Indy, and the Bucs figured it's time, maybe through the process of elimination, for him to learn his lessons at the ultimate school. Suarez is making his 11th big league start, and has allowed 14 homers in 46-1/3 IP during his Angels stint. He's still very much a work in progress; his last bullpen was dedicated to not tipping pitches. At least, youth will be served tonight by the 23-year-old Keller and the 21-year-old Suarez.

Notes:

• *sigh* Ric Rod went on the 10-day IL (retro to August 10th) with right shoulder inflammation; that may have been the trigger to his Friday meltdown. Keone Kela, if we count right, should be back Wednesday after serving his 10-day suspension; guessing that will be when Kyle Crick will start serving his three days.
• The Pirates have lost eight straight games, nine straight series (five sweeps), and 24-of-28 contests since the ASG.
• Pittsburgh released its 2020 schedule; the Bucs open in Tampa on March 26th, the Yankees come to town in mid-June and the Red Sox are at PNC over the 4th of July weekend.
• The Reds claimed Freddy Galvis from Toronto to shore up their SS spot; Galvis became expendable with the breakout of Bo Bichette.