Following a 4-1 victory Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates will look for a series victory as Francisco Liriano (1-1 4.64 ERA) takes on Alfredo Simon (0-2 16.39 ERA).
Liriano has a 1-5 record with a 3.96 ERA in 13 regular season starts against the Reds. One of those starts came this season, and he allowed three runs on five hits in five innings. Liriano threw 90 pitches in that appearance and struggled with control all night, having to consistently battle through control.
The Reds will have to contend with Liriano at PNC Park, however, and the Pirates have won each of his past 12 home starts on the mound, a streak that dates back to June 15 of last year.
HUGHHHHEEESSS Return
Jared Hughes is officially rejoining the Pirates as he was called up today. Hughes has missed all of the team’s regular season games with a left lat muscle strain.
To make room for Hughes, the Pirates sent Rob Scahill back to Triple-A Indianapolis.
“We’re excited to have him back. He’s been a big part of our bullpen the past two seasons,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “He’s taken the ball 60-plus times and was efficient as any guy in the league last year inheriting runners and putting things away.”
It was clear that Hughes is excited to be back as well, and the Pirates certainly hope after he settled in that some consistency can be provided to the bullpen.
“I’m healthy, which is huge,” he said. “I’m just glad to be pain free, firing on all cylinders and feeling good. Right off the bat, it was day-to-day, and we were hoping it would get better but it just took a little longer to heal. It took longer than expected with good help from the training staff who showed me the way to get healthy.”
Hughes estimates that it took around a week for him to start throwing again and that time off was significant enough that he had to build himself back up.
Last season, Hughes was given a set role but this season the bullpen’s only set role is to get the ball to Mark Melancon. Hurdle does have a role planned for him in the short term.
“Initially, I prefer to give him a couple clean outings early to get him going,” Hurdle said. “It’s Opening Day for him today.”
Tonight’s lineups:
Pirates (14-9)
- John Jaso 1B
- Andrew McCutchen CF
- David Freese 3B
- Starling Marte LF
- Francisco Cervelli C
- Gregory Polanco RF
- Josh Harrison 2B
- Jordy Mercer SS
- Francisco Liriano P
Cincinnati Reds (9-14)
- Zack Cozart SS
- Eugenio Suarez 3B
- Joey Votto 1B
- Brandon Phillips 2B
- Adam Duvall LF
- Jay Bruce RF
- Tucker Barnhart C
- Alfredo Simon P
- Billy Hamilton CF
Bottom of the ninth:
Gerrit Cole, the Pirates union representative told reporters before the game that there was a meeting to discuss the Zika virus. The meeting was also attended by association reps, an MLB doctor and even a Puerto Rican official and by all accounts went well … NL Central play was a touchy topic for the Pirates last season, but to date the team has a 6-1 record against divisional opponents … A win in tonight’s game would match the club record of 15 wins set in both 1992 and 2013. Currently, the Pirates have 14 victories for the fifth time in 130 years of National League play … John Jaso has safely reached base in 19 of his first 20 games with the Pirates … Josh Harrison currently has an eight-game hitting streak.
Photo credit: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
