Chad Kuhl v Sonny Gray, Lineup & Notes

Game: Tonight's game will start at 7:10 at GABP. It will be aired by AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Kevin Newman 2B, Josh Bell 1B, Colin Moran DH, Bryan Reynolds LF, Gregory Polanco RF, Erik Gonzalez 3B, Cole Tucker CF, Jake Stallings C and Chad Kuhl P. Looks like Gonzo is gonna get a long look, which is not good short-term news for 3B prospect K'Bryan Hayes. Tuck is going to see fairly regular time in center, where there are no ready-for-prime-time guys in the minors and Jarrod Dyson is batting .132 (per Baseball Reference, his OPS+ is -6!). Spoiler alert: at .148 w/26 OPS+, Tucker is not exactly turning heads with his stick, either.

Pitchers: RHP Chad Kuhl (0-0, 2.00) v RHP Sonny Gray (3-1, 2.25). Chad is a big boy now, stretching out enough to lose his piggyback status (although we suspect he'll still be on a short leash; he hasn't reached 60 pitches yet and is likely on a five-inning limit tonight). Whip has been solid against the Reds in five career starts, going 2-1/2.51. Gray has six outings (five starts) against the Pirates, with a 2-3/4.71 line, but he's been tough so far this year. Sets up to be a pretty good matchup.

Chad's flying solo tonight - image Pittsburgh Pirates

Notes:

• This is the first Shelty lineup that's a repeat; it was the same 10 days ago (except for Kuhl).
• The Cards are supposed to be back in action Saturday. Why the league let them sit around instead of bringing up some of their 30-man alternative players to play on ala Miami is still beyond us. Their three Bucco makeup games will be played as a twin bill on August 27th at Busch Stadium and the third postponement will be made up September 17th at PNC Park. That will also be a doubleheader - the regularly scheduled game plus the makeup, with SL as the home team for match #2. 
• First-time pitcher Neil Walker got the final two outs for the Phils last night; he even stranded a pair of runners (one was of his own making, via a walk). P was the Kid's sixth career MLB position, to go with prior outings at 1B-2B-3B-LF-RF. Not bad for a guy drafted as a catcher!
• 37-year-old Rangers' RHP Edinson Volquez has been placed on the 45-day IL after suffering a right oblique strain. After struggling for the past three years due to TJ surgery, this may be it for Eddie, an ol' 2014 Bucco. Another former Pirate, RHP Juan Nicasio, got the call to Texas as they made several moves today.
• Better late than never...Multiple sources told Baseball America (behind a paywall) that MLB is considering allowing teams to add up to 15 more players to their alternate training sites, bumping the team MLB/minors roster limit to 75.