JT v Corbin Burnes, Lineup & Notes

Game: The Sunday getaway day match starts at 1:35 to close the PNC Park set; the Pirates are in the unlikely position of going for the sweep.  The contest will be broadcast by AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Erik Gonzalez 3B, Adam Frazier 2B, Kevin Newman SS, Colin Moran 1B, Bryan Reynolds LF, gregory Polanco DH, Jose Osuna RF, Jarrod Dyson CF, Jake Stallings C and JT Brubaker P. J-Bell gets a Sunday maintenance day and Gregory gets a semi-blow at DH, which allows for him to keep on swingin'.

J-Bell gets an R&R day - 2020 Topps Heritage

Pitchers: RHP JT Brubaker (0-0/4.91) finishes the series v RHP Corbin Burnes (0-0, 3.00). JT has started two games and not been real sharp in either one, lasting three innings, 55 pitches and giving up three runs in each one, so a little less nibbling and a little more aggressiveness could help him out. He does have 10K in 11 IP, but six walks, too. It might help that JT is pitching on a regular schedule today; hje spent 11 days down before his last outing so may have had to knock off the rust. Burnes is trying to land a rotation spot. This is his third start of the year, and as his 12+K/nine show, he's got some stuff. But six walks per nine hurt his cause, so control and pitch count are still concerns. So far this year, the big diff between a dismal 2019 stat line and his strong start this year has been with the long ball - he gave up three per game in 1019, but that number has dropped to 0.4 per nine this year.

Notes:

• And another move: The Pirates recalled RHP Nick Tropeano from their alternate training site and optioned Nick Mears to the Altoona camp. Tropeano, 29, was claimed from the Yankees on the 11th with a slash of 12-14/4.51 in parts of five MLB seasons; the 23-year-old Mears has a line of 0-0/5.40 in three outings. It's the second time he's been called up for a taste and then returned to Altoona.
• Injury updates: Kyle Crick tossed another live BP session, Big Joe Musgrove will throw a side session Monday, and Mitch Keller is still just playing catch on flat ground.
• After today's game, the Pirates are off. Then they hit the road to play a two-gamer against the White Sox, a twin bill with the Cards to make up for the postponed games earlier in the month, and finish with a four-day set in Milwaukee. They return home September 1st against the Cubs.