Following two wins this weekend over the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates will look for a sweep this afternoon against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Pirates have gone 5-0-1 in their last six series at PNC Park and will send Gerrit Cole (7-6, 2.73 ERA) to the mound against Dan Straily (6-6, 3.80 ERA).
Cole has not fared well against the Reds in his career posting an 0-5 record with a 5.30 ERA in seven career starts against the Reds. This season he is 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in one start.
Straily is 1-1 with a 3.28 ERA in six career games against the Pirates. This season Straily has pitched the Pirates rough and has an 0-1 record and 2.40 ERA to show for it.
Glasnow progressing from his injury
Tyler Glasnow is continuing to progress from right shoulder discomfort and is eligible to come off the disabled list tomorrow.
Glasnow is expected to throw a simulated game Tuesday after completing a 40-pitch bullpen session yesterday.
His last start game against the Philadelphia Phillies, and he allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits in three innings. He struggled with the shoulder to locate pitches, and the Phillies had five stolen bases against him.
“The challenge in Triple-A is not enough guys are getting on base and the pockets of the lineup are soft,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle explained. “You have better talent up here when guys get on base. They look for tells and ways to break these guys down. The challenge is getting them here. He can hold and can shorten his release time while changing looks. There’s got to be a commitment to it that’s real, you can’t just go into a game and just acquire that. It’s creating better habits which in turn will put him in better position to execute all those little nuances.”
Regardless of what his next step is, Hurdle believes Glasnow feels the pain of finding out when things aren’t correctly lined up.
“That’s the best because that doesn’t happen in the minor leagues,” said Hurdle. “Sometimes you don’t have the results, but when you get exposed at this level, it’s way more real with a lot more impact.
Partch provides interesting call-up tale
Every professional baseball player anxiously awaits a call up to the major league regardless of whether it is their first time or tenth.
Curtis Partch is no different, though by his own doing, he had to wait an extra while to get the call.
“I think Dean (Treanor) called me at around 9:30, and I finally called him back around 10-10:15,” he said. “They actually called my parents because I was their only other reference number so I got a call from my mom and was wondering why my mom was calling me. Right after that, I got a call from a Pittsburgh number.”
The reason for the delay was an interesting one.
“My little girl was sleeping, so I had the phone on vibrate so I wouldn’t wake her up,” said Partch.
When Partch finally did get the call it caught him by surprise.
In an extra irony he was called up to potentially face his former Reds teammates, a fact which was not lost on Partch’s parents.
Partch faced three batters in his last time up with the Pirates and he allowed a run while all three reached base.
Despite this, Partch maintains that his mindset will not change.
“I want to go out there and execute as many pitches as I can,” Partch said. “I just want to stay in the now and get hitters out while worrying about things later.”
Today’s lineups
Pirates (55-53)
- Josh Harrison 2B
- Starling Marte LF
- Andrew McCutchen CF
- Matt Joyce RF
- Jung Ho Kang 3B
- John Jaso 1B
- Jordy Mercer SS
- Eric Fryer C
- Gerrit Cole P
Reds (44-65)
- Billy Hamilton CF
- Zack Cozart SS
- Joey Votto 1B
- Adam Duvall LF
- Brandon Phillips 2B
- Scott Schebler RF
- Eugenio Suarez 3B
- Ramon Cabrera C
- Dan Straily P
Bottom of the ninth
Fans may remember Starling Marte’s caught stealing in the fourth inning and perhaps questioned why Andrew McCutchen was not on second base.
It turns out that Marte did not have the green light to steal third base.
“It was a red light for Marte stealing third base and he ran through it,” said Hurdle. “Cutch is well aware that was a no run situation. The pitcher on the mound threw 14 pitches and hadn’t gotten an out. That’s why the red light was on. I don’t anticipating that happening again.”
David Freese is not in today’s line up after being hit with a pitch in the left elbow last night. Hurdle stated the discomfort played, the Pirates picked their spots and this is not the first day game after starting two night games games had off… Gregory Polanco is expected to be a pinch-hit option today.
Photo credit: Sports Spyder
