Look, I’ll admit it: seeing Jorge Soler and Kris Bryant turn around 100 mph fastballs to create a late-game rally for the Chicago Cubs is disquieting. There is a voice in my head screaming, “RED ALERT! RED ALERT! I THOUGHT WE HAD MORE TIME BEFORE THE CUBS WERE READY!” right now.
It’s early in the season, though, the Pirates’ bats aren’t quite functioning in top gear, and it’s dumb to be panicking about a 6-7 team that mostly everyone thought was a playoff team pre-season. And so instead of doing that all I’ll say is this: I’d really like to see the Pirates start winning more games in which their starting pitching puts them in a good position. Francisco Liriano has been excellent this year, so tonight is a good place to start.
Travis Wood is the first lefty the Pirates will face this year, which means the lineup is a little different. Corey Hart is at first base (which is fine) and Sean Rodriguez is in right (which seems kind of stupid). Noted Lefty Killer Jordy Mercer is still out with a “being nailed in the chest,” so we see Jung Ho Kang again. Wood is off to a really good start in 2015, but history suggests that he is not a really good pitcher. The Pirates OBLITERATED him last year, though with Mercer out and McCutchen limping and Marte stuck in streaky mode, I’m not sure we can expect that tonight. Here’s hoping anyway.
First pitch tonight is at 7:05.
Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
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