Friday, August 2, 2019

Willy v Steven Matz, Lineup & Notes - JHK DFA'ed, Gonzalez and Reyes Called Up

Game: The Pirates return home with first pitch at 7:05. The game will be on AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan. The first 20,00 fans get a free Pirates tee and it's Dollar Doggie night.

Lineup: Kevin Newman SS, Bryan Reynolds LF, Starling Marte CF, Josh Bell 1B, Jose Osuna 3B, Melky Cabrera RF, Adam Frazier 2B, Elias Diaz C, Trevor Williams P. Tom Prince's lineup doesn't seem a lot different than Clint's,except for flipping K-Man and Fraze. Glad to see Joey O getting some use while he's appealing his suspension, and if you're wondering why lefty Fraze is in, it's because he has virtually no R/Lsplit.

Willy on the bump - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

Pitchers: RHP Trevor Williams (3-4/4.77) starts it off against LHP Steven Matz (6-6/4.32). Willy had his lunch eaten for four games after returning from the IL, but his last pair of starts have been solid. In his last outing, he went seven innings in a 3-0 loss to the Mets and Matz. Since returning to the rotation three games ago, Matz is 1-0/1.89. His last trip to the hill was the 3-0 win over Willy, when Matz tossed a Maddux against the Buccos.

Notes
  • SS Erik Gonzalez returns from the IL today, replacing the DFA'ed Jung Ho Kang. Erik only hit .216 before he was hurt and .192 at Indy, but JHK wasn't lighting it up either at .169 with a looming $625K bonus, albeit with 10 homers. Also called up was Swiss Army knife Pablo Reyes, who looked good at the end of 2018 but abysmal at the start of 2019. The Bucs are giving him another look to see which Reyes is the real thing. He takes Corey D's place on the 25-man. An argument could be made for Kevin Kramer, but as a prospect, the FO prob decided that a steady diet of at bats would do him more good than some big league splinters. One thing for sure - the Bucco attack took a hit. It also shows the lack of MLB depth at Indy now.
He's back... 2019 Topps
  • Clint Hurdle will start his suspension tonight; Tom Prince will take his place.
  • Nubyjas Wilborn of the Post Gazette reported that "Sources say that bullpen coach Euclides Rojas pushed relief pitcher Kyle Crick. The dust up ended after both men were restrained." Man, that bullpen...
  • Steven Brault worked four innings for Indy last night, giving up two runs on three hits with five! walks and a wild pitch. He fanned a pair, tossing 76 pitches. The Tribe didn't need him to be sharp, winning 11-5. The victory went to Parker Markel, who threw the last two innings and picked up three whiffs. Markel was claimed a few days ago from the Mariners.
  • BTW, here's the Pirates new Top 30 Prospects via MLB.com. Click on the image to get a scouting report; it's almost guaranteed there will be a couple of names on the roster that will be new to you.

No comments: