Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call – Time to Regroup

In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pittsburgh Pirates had an off day yesterday, and a much-needed one at that. After getting swept by the Cubs, the team needed a day to regoup and refocus before a home series against the Brewers. This is the perfect opponent for the Pirates to rebound against, and they’ll have Jameson Taillon and Ivan Nova starting the first two games of the series, arguably their two best pitchers right now. The Pirates need to take at least two out of three here, and a sweep would be ideal. Steven Brault starts the third game, and he’s probably the worst of the rotation right now, but even he is capable of having a good enough outing to beat the Brewers.

The Cardinals were off yesterday, so the Pirates remain 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race, but the Marlins did beat the Mets last night, which slightly helps the Pirates. It’s a four team race for one spot that’s likely to come down to the last week of the season, especially with the Pirates playing the Cardinals in their final series of the season.

The Pirates also have players returning that will help them in this stretch run. Chris Stewart should be back tonight or any day now, and he’s certainly an upgrade over Eric Fryer. Tyler Glasnow will also be back any day now, and he should take over Steven Brault’s spot in the rotation until Gerrit Cole returns. He’s a bit of a Wild Card, but he has the upside to make some dynamic starts this month. And Jung Ho Kang should be back early next week, and his return will be significant if he continues the hot stretch he was on before hitting the DL.

Baseball Talk Around the Web

• Mark Saxon gives ESPN’s daily “What we learned” segment, where he talks about how the Cubs have the potential to make a significant impact on the National League playoff picture and more.
• Jayson Stark of ESPN gives us a full rundown on what to watch for this September, including the playoff races, the awards races, Clayton Kershaw‘s looming return, David Ortiz‘s last hurrah, and much more. It’s a great read.
• And Dayn Perry of CBS Sports lists his top 100 players in baseball right now. A couple Pirates made the list, but was Andrew McCutchen one of them?

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