The phrase there is no place like home may resonate for the Pittsburgh Pirates following a 1-5 road trip. The Pirates are 32-16 overall this season at PNC Park and winners of eight of their past nine home contests.
Now, the Washington Nationals come to town, perhaps something which could bode well for the Pirates considering their 11-1 home record against National League East opponents at PNC Park.
Coming into tonight’s game, the Nationals lead the NL East by three games over the New York Mets.
Francisco Liriano will pitch for the Pirates against Doug Fister.
Liriano is making his first start of the second half of the season after he was scratched prior to a start against the Milwaukee Brewers due to neck tightness.
“He’s good to go, he’s ready, we flew him out yesterday,” manager Clint Hurdle said of his starting pitcher. “He doesn’t like not getting the ball,that wore on him. He take a lot of pride in getting the ball.”
Liriano had a no-decision in his last outing against the St. Louis Cardinals. He allowed two runs on five hits in 6.1 innings. Liriano is 1-2 with a 4.42 ERA in three career starts against the Nationals.
Fister is facing the Pirates for the fifth time and is 1-1 with a 1.07 ERA in his four previous starts against them. His last outing was against the Los Angeles Dodgers and allowed four runs on nine hits in five innings taking the loss.
Seventh inning stretch: It is no secret that fans have been critical of Pedro Alvarez and earlier today reports led by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, surfaced that the Pirates were shopping the Pirates first baseman to anyone who was willing to listen.
At the end of the last home stand general manager Neal Huntington discussed that reports around this time of year, right around the trade deadline are mostly false and Hurdle downplayed rumors in general surrounding the deadline.
“I think it’s a much bigger deal outside of this clubhouse than it is inside because everybody is something to talk about,” said Hurdle. “We’re going to show up and play. Clichés are smart to use rather than go off target. They’re not GM’s they’re players and they’re reminded of that.”
Alvarez is batting .231 on the season with 12 home runs and 43 RBI. His overall WAR of -0.7 is the second lowest of his career [-2.2 in 2011] and his -1.5 defensive WAR is the worst of his career, which included a league-leading 25 errors while playing third base last season.
Alvarez will get a chance to start tonight against Fister and is a career .571 hitter against the Nationals pitcher.
“Ishikawa had five RBI in six at-bats and I just wanted to throw a hot bat in there,” Hurdle said. “He’s [Alvarez] seen Fister, he’s had some good looks.”
With Ishikawa’s recent success, Alvarez has sat more frequently against right-handed pitching and caused some questions to come Hurdle’s way.
“I think I try and weigh Travis’s role and responsibility and try and make sure I give Pedro opportunities to catch fire and get that time we’ve seen in the past,” said Hurdle. “I’ve shared with him my thoughts and expectations last Sunday and we had a great conversation together.”
Bottom of the ninth: Francisco Cervelli is back in the lineup after leaving Monday night’s game because of discomfort in his right wrist. According to Cervelli, the pitch hit Cervelli in a spot he had been hit earlier in the season.
“I feel much better, so I’ll see what happens,” Cervelli said. “I was frustrated but I always say it is all about 25 guys and they all can do their jobs.”
Jordy Mercer was in the clubhouse prior to today’s game and was seen without crutches. Mercer is walking with a slight limp and was relieved that the injury was not worse. He also told reporters that Carlos Gomez called the day after the injury to apologize.
Jung Ho Kang who is starting tonight’s game at shortstop has the longest current hitting streak of any Pirate at nine games… Starling Marte ranks first among NL outfielders in hits with 84… Neil Walker has a .380 batting average and has hit safely of 12 of 13 career games against the Nationals… Tony Watson has a 1.09 ERA in 25 home games this season… In his last four starts at PNC Park, Liriano has a 1.98 ERA… The Pirates have won three of the past four series against the Nationals that were played at PNC Park… Gregory Polanco has safely reached base in 15 of his first 18 games this month. Former Pirate Clint Robinson has hit safely in seven of his last nine games. He is batting .271 on the season… Since June 19, the Nationals have the second-best record in the NL with a 17-9 mark.
