Game 1: Cody Ponce v Trevor Bauer, Lineup & Notes

Game: The first game begins at 4:10 at GABP. It will be aired on AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan. As a 2020 twinbill, it will be a seven-inning match.

Lineup: Erik Gonzalez SS, Adam Frazier LF, Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B, Colin Moran 1B, Josh Bell DH, Bryan Reynolds CF, Kevin Newman 2B, Cole Tucker RF, John Ryan Murphy C and Cody Ponce P. Key is back in the three spot; looks like the A-Team, more or less, minus Jake Stallings.

Jake takes a break; he'll get game 2 - 2020 Topps Heritage

Pitchers: RHP Cody Ponce (1-1, 3.46) has the lidlifter against RHP Trevor Bauer (4-3/1.74). Cody has got this 29th man gig down pat, with his line being 1-0/2.79 as an extra starter. But he was handled a little roughly in his last outing, which was against the Reds, giving up three runs in four IP thanks to a pair of long balls; in all, 8-of-11 hits he's given up have been for extra bases, so he has to beware of the meatball. Bauer lost to the Bucs 10 days ago by a 4-3 count; three of the runs were unearned when Joey Votto missed a catch at first, opening the gate for Pittsburgh. Still, Trevor fanned seven in six frames while giving up four hits, so he wasn't exactly being whacked around by the Pirates.

Notes: 

• This will be Cody's third straight doubleheader start as the Pirates 29th man. The next one is the 18th against the Cards; unless they start Ponce on short rest, Shelty will have to finally come up with a twin bill Plan B.
• This is the Bucs third double-dipper of the season; so far they've swept the Cards and split with the Reds in their first pair. They only played one two-fer in 2019, splitting with Cincinnati.
• Chad Kuhl was pitching through an injury, or at least some discomfort, yesterday. He's had a cuticle abrasion on his right index finger since early August, and it limits his ability to control his heater. We haven't heard of it mentioned in any injury reports, so we suppose it's just a day-to-day thing.