Lineup: Kevin Newman SS, Bryan Reynolds LF, Starling Marte CF, Josh Bell 1B, Jose Osuna RF, Colin Moran 3B, Elias Diaz C, Adam Frazier 2B, Steven Brault P. Pretty much same ol'; looks like Joey O has bumped Melky in RF. If you're wondering why Redbeard and Fraze are in against a southpaw, it's because Drew Smyly has a huge reverse split so far this year, with lefties batting .346 against him.
 |
| Brault on the bump - photo Pittsburgh Pirates |
Pitchers: LHP Steven Brault (3-3/3.98) takes on LHP Drew Smyly (2-6/6.99) in the middle game. Steven keeps grinding out solid six-inning starts and has been the glue man of the staff, giving up two or fewer runs in 13 of his 16 starts. He missed the Phils in July when he was on the IL and faced them twice last year, going 1-0 while yielding two runs in eight IP. Smyly hasn't had much to smile about lately, going 0-1/7.45 in his past four starts with seven homers swatted in 19-2/3 frames. But he was sho' enuff good against the Pirates in July, giving up a run on four hits with eight whiffs over six innings.
Notes:
- Things we learned after Clint had four guys in the bullpen on ice last night - Kyle Crick was definitely out after back-to-back outings, Felipe Vazquez could be used but only for a save, and the Pirates prefer not to use Keone Kela in consecutive games. Yeh, hard to keep straight, and it does lead to questions regarding KK's arm, overall Pirates pitch count limits and role playing.
- Speaking of the bullpen, the Bucs optioned RHP Parker Markel back to Indy and recalled RHP Yefry Ramirez.
- Mitch Keller was named the International League's Most Valuable Pitcher. Kells went 7-5/3.56 with 123 strikeouts in 19 outings covering 103-2/3 innings for the Tribe. He was the fourth Indy pitcher selected as MVP. Steven Brault, tonight's starter, was the most recent before Mitch, winning in 2017.
- Even with the Reds sweep, the Bucs are still 11-31 since the All Star break.
No comments:
Post a Comment