Thursday Opener With SF - Wil Crowe v Anthony DeSclafani; Craig Up, Evans On IL, Poppen DFA'ed, Yajure In Town

Today's Game: The Giants stop in town with first pitch at 6:35. If you haven't been paying attention to the left coast clubs, the G-Men are in first, ahead of the Padres. They don't run up big scores, but plenty of strong pitching has held up well so far. The game will be aired by AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B; Kevin Newman SS; Bryan Reynolds CF; Jake Stallings C; Gregory Polanco RF; Erik Gonzalez 3B; Ben Gamel LF; Will Craig 1B; Wil Crowe P. Craig makes his 2021 debut and Jake is still cleanup, Tom sits for Gamel.

Pitchers: RHP Wil Crowe (0-1/4.02) v RHP Anthony DeSclafani (2-1/2.40). Crowe has been stretching it out every start, getting to six innings in his last outing. He's been pretty much as advertised, a competent back-of-rotation guy who can work around crowded base paths and is solid, especially when he has his control. He hasn't gone against the Giants yet in his career. DeSclafani was a staff workhorse with the Reds, and this year has featured his slider as his bread and butter pitch and limited walks/long balls. His last couple of games have been so-so; whether it's because of San Diego's bats (he went against them back-to-back) or him slowing down a bit is to be seen. As a former Cincy hurler, he's seen the Bucs plenty and slashed 2-7/5.44 in 16 career starts against them.

Will Craig is back - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

Notes:

• 1B Will Craig was called up; Phil Evans suffered a L hammy strain yesterday and was placed on the 10-day IL. To clear 40-man space for Will, RHP Sean Poppen was DFA'ed. RHP Miguel Yajure (who is on the 40-man roster) is in Pittsburgh, being positioned for a possible future move per Shelty.
• Chad Kuhl threw a sim game at PNC Park earlier today.
• The Pirates have matched up well with the Giants lately. Pittsburgh is 3-0-1 in its past four series against San Fran, posting a 9-5 record in that span.
• Altoona's RHP Cody Bolton (knee), one of the Pirates brighter pitching prospects, was bumped to the 60-day IL. He was on the seven-day IL, but just had right meniscus surgery on the knee three days ago.

Tomorrow's Game: First pitch is at 6:35 and will be on AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan as Tyler Anderson takes on Kevin Gausman.