In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates
Over .500 Again
The Pittsburgh Pirates outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday in their fourth of July bash. The win put the Pirates over .500 again at 42-41.
In our Monday Minute from yesterday, we observed that yesterday was truly Independence Day for the Pirates, for a variety of reasons. Here it is, in case you missed it.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/272149981″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]Taillon to DL; Brault to Start
After the game yesterday, the team announced that Jameson Taillon would head to the DL with right shoulder fatigue, and Steven Brault would be taking his place for the start later today. Ostensibly, this would be a spot start, as Gerrit Cole is slated to make a rehab start at Indianapolis today as well. If all goes well with that rehab outing, Cole should take his spot in the rotation, with Brault sent back down.
The move is both surprising and unsurprising in a way. Even considering his much-anticipated debut along with his more than capable performance, Taillon is still seeing his first season back after numerous injuries. It completely makes sense to save some bullets in his chamber for later use. Multiple outlets have reported that this move is based purely on those considerations, and not any underlying injury.
Regardless, Brault is rightfully excited about making his major league debut.
Man oh man, tomorrow I get to do what I have dreamed of my entire life. Let's play ball @Pirates thank you for all the support and love!!
— Steven Brault (@SquidBrault) July 5, 2016
We talked to Brault after his rehab start in Morgantown, and it is impressive that the left-hander has been able to ramp back up so quickly after that Jun 21st outing.
Keep your eye on Pirates Breakdown today as we will get you everything you need to know about Brault to impress your coworkers at the water cooler.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Today’s Starter
As part of our Wake Up Call, we will now be giving you the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates versus today’s starter.
Here now are the career numbers for current Pirates against Mike Leake:
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew McCutchen | 79 | 71 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 16 | .239 | .316 | .338 | .654 |
| Starling Marte | 44 | 41 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 | .268 | .318 | .390 | .708 |
| Josh Harrison | 32 | 29 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .241 | .290 | .379 | .670 |
| Jordy Mercer | 26 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | .318 | .360 | .364 | .724 |
| David Freese | 23 | 22 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | .500 | .522 | .727 | 1.249 |
| Gregory Polanco | 23 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | .158 | .304 | .158 | .462 |
| Erik Kratz | 11 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | .273 | .273 | .818 | 1.091 |
| John Jaso | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .125 | .125 | .375 | .500 |
| Jung Ho Kang | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .429 | .429 | .857 | 1.286 |
| Matthew Joyce | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 1.000 |
| Total | 272 | 247 | 66 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 23 | 13 | 40 | .267 | .321 | .405 | .726 |
Yesterday’s Player Of The Game
After each game – win or lose – we put out a Twitter Poll to find out who you feel should take home ‘Player of the Game’ honors. Here now is yesterday’s results, for each game.
Who is your #Pirates player of the game this #FourthofJuly after 4-2 win? #RaiseIt
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) July 4, 2016
Keep an eye out for our POTG polls after each game on our twitter feed after each game, win or lose.
Baseball Talk on the Web
- MLB Trade Rumors runs down some under-the-radar trade candidates.
- Jesse Spector wonders how much the standings on July fourth really mean.
- The Ringer has a great look at the weird season of the Reds’ Adam Duvall
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