Good afternoon from PNC Park where the Pirates (77-69) begin their final homestand of the regular season against the Cubs (64-82). Gerrit Cole (8-5, 3.89 ERA) will start it off for the Bucs and will oppose Tsuyoshi Wada (4-2, 2.95 ERA).
Injury Update
Starling Marte’s status for tonight’s game is TBD after being hit in the elbow with a pitch in last night’s game.
“He’s in the cage [pregame] to see how he feels from a physical standpoint swinging the bat,” said manager Clint Hurdle.
Pedro Alvarez hasn’t seen a change in his condition with a “stress reaction in the 4th metatarsal in his left foot”.
Alvarez said, “All we can do right now is continue to treat it and try to get it right.”
Charlie Morton threw another bullpen session today of 43 pitches. His status remains in limbo with his “sports hernia”.
“It feels the same,” said Morton. “I think it’s a good thing in a sense that I know that it hasn’t gotten much worse. It just hasn’t gotten any better. My arm feels great. My stuff’s good it’s just repeating pitches.”
Hurdle’s Quotes
On Gerrit Cole’s pitch command: “It’s not like he’s coming up with five perfect pitches. He does have pitches and he’s trying to make sure that they’re all weapons. He said the best thing. It all starts with the fastball command. That’s something he’s continually focused on. It’s an early strike one with the fastball . It’s moving the fastball from side to side then the swing and miss stuff can come into play. When you can go from 96-97 mph with the fastball then 80 mph with the off-speed, it’s a tremendous challenge for the hitter to cover that.”
Other Notes
— The Pirates come into the final homestand of the year two games in the loss column behind the Cardinals for the National League Central lead. They lead the Brewers by two in the loss column for the second National League Wild Card. Their playoff magic number is now 15. A Pirates win or Brewers loss will subtract one from the magic number.
— Gerrit Cole is making his second straight start against the Cubs tonight after also winning a 10-4 decision at Wrigley Field Sunday afternoon. Cole has gone 4-0 with a 3.24 ERA (25 IP/ 9 ER) in four career starts against the Cubs and 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA (56 IP/ 21 ER) in nine starts at PNC Park this year (the Pirates are 7-2 in his nine home starts).
— The Bucs had eight hits last night and have now recorded 70 hits over the last six games, including 17 doubles and eight home runs. In the first 10 games of September, Pittsburgh’s 101 hits rank second among all National League clubs behind San Francisco (102). The Pirates lead the league this month in extra base hits (39) and doubles (27).
Tonight’s Pirates Lineup
First pitch is set for 7:05.
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(Photo Credit: Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
