Good afternoon from PNC Park where today the Pirates (12-19) open a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants (20-11). Jeff Locke will make his 2014 Pirates debut against Yusmeiro Petit (2-1, 2.61 ERA), who is starting in place of injured starter Matt Cain.
To make room for Locke on the 25-man roster, the Pirates have optioned Casey Sadler to AAA Indianapolis where he should resume duties in their starting rotation. Sadler threw four innings of work allowing no runs on two hits while striking out three and walking two.
DL Update via Clint Hurdle
— Jason Grilli has been throwing on flat ground and will move to throwing on a slope in a couple of days.
— Russell Martin will begin resuming baseball activities in a couple of days.
— Hurdle is uncertain at the time, but says Wandy Rodriguez will make his next rehab start in the next couple days, possibly tomorrow. The location of the assignment is TBA.
Hurdle’s Quotes
On preparing for Petit on short notice: “24 hours is more than ample time. We’ve got video, we’ve seen Petit pitch. He’s got a volume of work this year, a volume of work in the past. I’ve seen him for years now. He’s going to try to work the corners, try and stay down, spin the ball on occasion. Another guy you have to make work and not give in to. He’s probabily going to try to get you to chase or work the corners more than he’s looking to leave anything out over the middle of the plate and down. It’s just adjusting. We’ve found out early enough that we were prepared and ready to go.”
On the adjustments of making a transition from the bullpen to starting: “It can be, but a number of guys have done it. You’ll see it happen a handful of times every year and I think he was also the guy that almost threw a no-hitter a year or two ago, so he’s more than capable. He’s a guy that when he has his stuff, he can control the bat speed, leave the ball down. He’s shown the ability to have some effective command.”
Other Notes
— Neil Walker has reached base safely in all 12 games played against the Giants at PNC Park and has hit safely in 10 of the 12, going 21-for-43 (.488) with two home runs and 10 RBI. He went 5-for-5 with a double, homer and four runs scored in Pittsburgh’s 13-2 win over the Giants on 7/8/2012.
— The Bucco bullpen picked up it’s ninth win of the season Saturday night. Pittsburgh and San Francisco are tied for first among N.L. teams with nine bullpen wins apiece. In addition, the Pirates rank fourth in the N.L. with a 2.68 bullpen ERA, trailing San Diego (1.71), San Francisco (1.86) and Washington (1.98).
— In their last four games, the Pirates have hit .350 (14-for-40) with runners in scoring position.
Today’s Lineups
First pitch is set for 7:05.
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(Photo Credit: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images North America)
