Chad v Brad Keller, Lineup & Notes

Game: The series finale starts at 2:05 and will be broadcast by AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan. The Bucs will be trying to stop a sweep by the Royals.

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Kevin Newman SS, Colin Moran DH, Josh Bell 1B, Gregory Polanco RF, Bryan Reynolds LF, JT Riddle 3B, Cole Tucker CF, John Ryan Murphy C and Chad Kuhl P. The Sunday lineup...

JT gets dusted off today - photo 2020 Pgh Pirates

Pitchers: RHP Chad Kuhl (1-1, 3.38) closes out the set against RHP Brad Keller (3-2, 2.60). Chad has taken big steps in reestablishing himself as a starter, and a strong finish would help his case for next year. Shelty has kept him on an 85 pitch leash, with a couple of outings cut short at 65 tosses to protect his arm after 2019 elbow surgery. Kuhl could help himself, too; five walks per game and occasional bouts of spraying the ball run up those counts in a hurry. Keller, 25, is bouncing back nicely after a so-so 2019 campaign, but he's been rattled around in two of his past three starts. We'll find out if that's a trend or just a bump today.

Notes:

• A streak for the history books: Per Stats by STATS, "The Pirates have lost 3 straight, and in each game the winning pitcher earned his first career win (KC's Kyle Zimmer + Kris Bubic and the CWS' Dane Dunning). They are the second team since 1901 to lose 3 straight games to pitchers earning their first career win, joining the Indians from April 17-19, 2007."
• 3B Sherten Apostel made his debut with Texas yesterday; he was part of the Keona Kela package in 2018. The promotion is a bit of a surprise; he was playing A Ball in 2019. He did show some power and a decent OBP (his MiLB BA is just .249, but his OBP was .368, so he will take a walk).