Willy v Joe Ross, Lineup & Notes

Game: The Pirates kick it off against the Nats at 7:05. The game will be on AT&T SportsNet, MLB Network (out of market) and 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Bryan Reynolds LF, Starling Marte CF, Josh Bell 1B, Colin Moran 3B, Melky Cabrera RF, Kevin Newman SS, Elias Diaz C, Trevor Williams P.

Trevor does the spinning tonight - photo Joe Guzy/Pirates

Pitchers: RHP Trevor Williams (5-5/5.25) opens against RHP Joe Ross (3-3/5.91). Willy's on a nine-game bummer (which includes a couple of weeks in the IL) - he's 4-5 over that span, but with a 7.28 ERA and just a pair of quality starts. He beat Washington in April, giving up two runs in 6-1/3 IP on the road to a 6-3 victory. Ross is trending the opposite of Williams - he's 3-0/0.50 in his last three starts, covering 18 innings, following a tough couple of starts returning to the rotation after being in the pen all year. He hasn't tossed against the Pirates since 2016.

Notes:

• The Pirates are 51-72 and lost 27 of 34 since the AS break. The Bucs took 2-of-3 from Washington in April. The Nats are back in the hunt,leading in the Wild Card standings and 5-1/2 games behind the Braves (four in the loss column) in the NL East.
• Altoona OF Logan Hill was named the Eastern League Player of the Week. He went 11-of-24 with three homers, three doubles and nine RBI over that span.
• If you're one of the fans who like to vacation in Florida while the Pirates are in camp, here's their 2020 spring training sked, with Opening Day on February 22nd.