Good afternoon from PNC Park where today the Pirates (34-35) begin a three-game set with the Reds (33-35). Brandon Cumpton (2-2, 6.06 ERA) will take the hill for the home team and will oppose Johnny Cueto (6-5, 1.85 ERA).
DL Update
— Neil Walker will take BP and fielding practice prior to today’s game. He will also simulate getting prepared to pinch-hit during the game.
— Francisco Liriano will maybe play catch on Thursday.
— Gerrit Cole played catch today. He had a 34-pitch side-session on Sunday and has had no complications or setbacks. No word on what the next step is as of yet.
Hurdle’s Quotes
On facing Cueto, who has thrown two shutouts against the Pirates this season: “We talked about those elite pitchers. You gotta out-compete them. Every pitch matters, every pitch counts. He’s 6-5 with a sub-two ERA, so sometimes you don’t beat him, but your pitcher gives you a good enough effort that they both leave the game with no mark and you win against the bullpen. If there’s a mistake made, you gotta cash in on it. You gotta hit it and you’ve got to score people when they’re at second. When there’s a runner in scoring position. All those opportunities are magnified greater when you have an elite pitcher on the mound.”
On Polanco’s making an early mark on the team: “When he hit the homer off Dunn, our dugout just flipped over and Andrew and I are just talking to each other saying ‘did you see that ball jump off that bat and did you hear that sound?’. We’re just having a conversation and everything is breaking loose behind us. We looked back and said ‘This is pretty cool right here’. Since he’s shown up, the things he’s been able to do. Now to see it at this level, it gives everybody a jolt of confidence.”
Other Notes
— Yesterday, Andrew McCutchen was named National League Player-of-the-Week for the third time in his career. In seven games last week, Cutch hit .483 (14-for-29) while leading the Majors with four home runs, 13 RBI, a 1.034 slugging pct. and 30 total bases. He also posted multi-hit performances in all seven games.
— In four games with Gregory Polanco, Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen at the top of the order, the threesome has combined to go 26-for-60 (.433) with three doubles, two home runs, 13 RBI and 12 runs scored.
— Hall-of-Famer Tony Gwynn hit his last Major League home run on 8/11/01 and it came off of Bucco lefty Joe Beimel at PNC Park in a 6-2 San Diego victory. In his career, Gwynn hit .339 in 185 games against the Pirates, which included a .344 mark in 94 games at Three Rivers Stadium and a .500 (2-for-4) clip in two games at PNC Park.
Tonight’s Pirates Lineup
First pitch is set for 7:05.
(Photo Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
