Sorry for the lack of recap from last night; I’m trying to get a bunch of things in line this week since THE PLAYOFFS ARE NEXT WEEK and I just didn’t have much to say. Jeff Locke sucked, it would’ve been awesome if the Pirates won because the Cardinals and Giants both lost, but then it wasn’t quite as bad that they lost because those two other things happened. Frankly, I expected a hangover yesterday and I would say the Pirates delivered.
As far as the NL Central title goes, this game is just about as close to a must-win as possible for the Pirates. If they lose tonight, they’ll be two behind the Cardinals with three games remaining, and that doesn’t leave many paths to a division title given that the Cards play the Diamondbacks. If the Pirates win tonight, they’re within a one game of St. Louis. From there, it’s not impossible to envision the Pirates sweeping the Reds and the Cardinals winning two against the Diamondbacks, which would create a tie in the Central.
Anyway, Edinson Volquez makes his last regular season start tonight against David Hale. Hale hasn’t made a start for the Braves since June 28th, so presumably he’ll be on a really short leash tonight and this will be more of a bullpen start for the Braves than anything else. Russell Martin is in the starting lineup after being removed from last night’s game. Hopefully he’s fine.
First pitch tonight is at 7:10.
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