The Pittsburgh Pirates will be playing for its sixth sweep of the season this afternoon when it takes on the Philadelphia Phillies.
This is possible because the Pirates won a 1-0 game Friday in 13 innings and then a 4-3 game yesterday in which Gerrit Cole earned his major league leading 10th win of the season.
Today’s starters:
The Pirates will send A.J. Burnett to the mound to face Cole Hamels. The two pitchers have a combined 25 years of major league experience.
Burnett lost his last decision against the Milwaukee Brewers snapping a six-start winning streak. In the defeat he allowed one run on five hits in seven innings. He is 7-9 with a 4.78 ERA in 21 career appearances [20 starts]. He allowed two runs [one earned] in a 7-2 victory against the Phillies in May. Burnett played for the Phillies in 2014. He is a strikeout away from tying Jamie Moyer for 38th on the all-time list and eight away from Andy Pettitte who is in 37th place.
Hamels is also coming off a loss, this one on the road against the Cincinnati Reds. He allowed five runs on eight hits in six innings. It was his first ever loss against the Reds. Hamels has a 25.3 percent strikeout rate this season which is his highest rate since his 2006 rookie season. Hamels is 3-2 with a 2.73 ERA in eight starts against the Pirates. He is 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in four starts at PNC Park and has yet to give up a homer there.
Pregame thoughts:
The buzz surrounding the Pirates clubhouse was about a couple of firsts.
This is the first time Jung Ho Kang has batted fourth in the Pirates lineup and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle discussed his experience in Korea serving as a factor when he wrote the lineup this morning.
“He probably has more experience than anyone we’ve got at hitting third or cleanup so that’s basically my thinking,” Hurdle said. “I’m just going to go out there and have some fun with it.”
Kang is hitting .303 with three home runs and 20 RBI in his last 38 games.
Corey Hart meanwhile is back in the starting lineup for the first time since May 16. This is the first time all season Hart is batting seventh in the lineup.
“[It’s] just to get him some at-bats, let him see some pitches, and get a feel for play,” said Hurdle. “I felt that starting with this Sunday we can start getting him some games and a volume of at-bats.”
Though Hart has had success as a pinch-hitter batting .333 in that role, his 41 at-bats are the lowest among players on the Opening Day roster. Only Jose Tabata [24] has fewer plate appearances and he was called up May 19.
Following yesterday’s game, the Phillies sent Darin Ruf down to Triple-A and recalled Domonic Brown. Brown had 27 homers and 83 RBI in 2013. Brown hit .257 with two home runs in 52 games. He is in today’s lineup playing right field.
“He’ll get some chances to start,” Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said after yesterday’s game. “I’ll mix and match and rotate the guys as I see fit. He’ll be playing right field for the most part.”
The Pirates are 13-7 in day games this season and the team’s pitchers have a 2.49 ERA in those games. Hurdle discussed the team’s improvement in day games.
“If I knew why we would have done this long before this year,” Hurdle said. “Two years ago day games were a burden for us. Last year it was a focus point to try and improve. I’m not sure why but I’m happy it’s happening and hopefully we’ll do more of it.”
Bottom of the ninth:
Today was the fifth annual Pitch for Hope Women’s Clinic.
The event which occurs before the start of an afternoon Pirates game, allows women to take the field at PNC Park and participate in clinic with Pirates coaches. Proper stretching, throwing
“It never ceases to amaze me what our coaching staff can get these women to buy in to,” said Hurdle. “They’re actually crossing over, clicking their heals three times and trying to capture some first step quickness. Two of them actually went down. We had to slow down the aggressiveness of the drill after the second one. They have a blast, it’s a fun day.”
Photo courtesy: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
