The Pirates (85 – 62) look to rebound after last night’s tough loss against the Cubs (63 – 84) in the third game of this four-game set. Gerrit Cole (7 – 7, 3.48 ERA) opposes Scott Baker (0 – 0, 0.00 ERA).
Leading Off
Wandy Rodriguez has been shut down for the remainder of the 2013 season by the Pirates. Rodriguez hasn’t pitched since June 5th when he left in the first inning in Atlanta. He had a 6 – 4 record with a 2.59 ERA in 12 starts while striking out 46 and walking 12. The Pirates look to have him ready by Opening Day 2014 which looks like Rodriguez’s club option could be picked up for next season.
Hurdle’s Quotes
On Wandy — “We had Wandy in here with Neil, myself, Todd Tomczyk and Kiyoshi Momose (interpreter for Wandy) in here and it was a hard meeting. We’re going to shut Wandy down for his benefit, for our benefit. He’s put so much into this, he’s worked so very hard to try to get into the position to pitch again because he wants to help the team, but he continues to pitch with pain and discomfort and we’re going to turn our focus to 2014 and let him heal.”
On Grilli bouncing back from his injury — “He’s human and he’s a veteran and it’s the first turbulence he’s had this year, so you weigh that in then talk to him like a man. Sometimes, our how-to and our want-to don’t match up. He’s helped put us in the position that we’re in and wants to get back to that spot, but there’s a process that we’re going to need to work through to get there and it’s more pitches and, at least, a couple more innings to see the development continue and obviously the stamina to finish 20 pitches strong, rather than 12, 15 strong. I like the fact that we still have the opportunity to get him back to where he was because we’re much better dynamically with him being him and we can get him there.”
Other Notes
— Since June 22nd, The Pirates and Cardinals have been separated by 2 games or less for all but 8 days (Pirates built a 4 game lead in mid-August).
— Neil Walker has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games at PNC Park (21-for-49, .429) and Andrew McCutchen has gone 25-for-60 (.417) with seven doubles, a homer and eight RBI in his last 17 home games.
— The Pirates are expected to go over the 2,000,000 mark in attendance for the season tonight for the second straight season and fifth time in franchise history. The all-time attendance mark was set in PNC Parks inaugural season of 2001 with 2,436,139 fans attending. The sellout record (19) could be tied tonight, as well.
First pitch is set for 7:05
Follow Travis for Pirates news and in-game updates on Twitter @TBerardi_OVA or @Theyinzer
(Photo Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports)
