The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to win its second consecutive series this afternoon when the team concludes a four-game road series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
A 3-2 loss Wednesday night ended a four-game winning streak and pushed the Pirates down to .500 on the season. Steve Lombardozzi was thrown out at home plate by Jeff Francoeur ending the game. Both teams scored their runs in the fifth inning.
Today’s starters 
The Pirates will send former Phillie Vance Worley to the mound against right-handed starter Aaron Harang. Worley is 1-0 in one career start against the Phillies allowing three runs in five innings of work. Worley is coming off a no-decision against the St. Louis Cardinals in which he allowed five runs on nine hits in five innings. On the road, Worley is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA. He posted an 18-13 career record with the Phillies. This season, opposing teams have a .297 batting average against Worley.
Harang is no stranger to the Pirates. He has made 28 career starts against the Pirates that have spanned 180.2 innings. The 28 starts tie him with Johnny Cueto for most among active starters against the Pirates. He is 16-8 against them in his career. Harang ranks fourth in the National League with 0.40 home runs allowed per nine innings. His home ERA of 0.84 leads the NL and his .220 opponent batting average against ranks among league leaders.
“He’s smart out there, he knows how to pitch,” Pirates catcher Chris Stewart said. “He knows how to read hitters swings and make the adjustment out there on the mound. A guy doesn’t stay around that long unless he knows what he’s doing on the mound.”
Pregame thoughts:
Andrew McCutchen is out of today’s lineup. This is a scheduled day off based upon work load and conversations he has had with manager Clint Hurdle since the beginning of the year.
Starling Marte will take his place in center field and Josh Harrison will make his first start of the season and 22nd career start in left field. This allows Jung Ho Kang’s bat to be in the lineup while also allowing Jordy Mercer and Harrison to see the field.
Left field is the third position in 2015 that Harrison has made a start.
“A situational change defensively can sometimes help a player offensively,” Hurdle said. “It’s the mindset; gets him in a different routine, frees him up. It’s like changing the furniture in your living room. You’re still going to get to the door, you’ve just got to find a different way to cross the room.”
With both A.J. Burnett and Francisco Liriano each successfully putting down bunts with two strikes this series, the question was raised how pitchers have been able to take a better approach to the plate.
“It wasn’t just getting base hits it was all facets of hitting,” said Hurdle. “We’re making better contact, we’re seeing more pitches. We’ve seen the bunts play really well for us early.”
Cole Hamels picked up a win yesterday behind his change up. McCutchen told reporters following yesterday’s loss that the Pirates weren’t able to solve the change up and Hurdle referred to it as one of the best in baseball.
Today’s lineups:
Pirates [17-17]
1. Gregory Polanco RF
2. Josh Harrison LF
3. Neil Walker 2B
4. Starling Marte CF
5. Pedro Alvarez 1B
6. Jung Ho Kang 3B
7. Jordy Mercer SS
8. Chris Stewart C
9. Vance Worley P
Phillies [12-23]
1. Ben Revere LF
2. Freddy Galvis SS
3. Chase Utley 2B
4. Ryan Howard 1B
5. Cesar Hernandez 3B
6. Grady Sizemore RF
7. Odubel Herrera CF
8. Cameron Rupp C
9. Aaron Harang P
Bottom of the ninth:
Last home stand, Hurdle acknowledged what many already knew, the Pirates are being pitched to differently. Teams are going away from the fastball in favor of more off-speed pitches. Currently, Hurdle likes the improvement the team has made towards this adjustment.
“In the last week to 10 days, we’re becoming more of the offensive team we can be, we showed that ability last year with the off-speed at times and I believe we’ll do that again,” Hurdle said. “We’re showing signs of it right now.”
Charlie Morton is scheduled to make a rehab start with Triple-A Indianapolis tonight. He has been on the disabled list since Apr. 5 recovering from right hip surgery.
The Pirates lead all of baseball in fewest first inning runs allowed [4], double plays turned [39], hit batters since the start of the 2014 season and road ERA [2.57].
Photo credit: Gene J. Puskar/AP
