The Pirates kick off what might be their most important homestand of 2014 tonight against the Mets. Their next 10 games will be at PNC Park, and they’ll be against the Mets, Diamondbacks, and Phillies. I’d like to see seven wins, at least, from the Pirates on this homestand.
Vance Worley makes his third Pirate start tonight. His first two starts have gone 13 1/3 innings, holding opponents to three runs on ten hits. He’s only struck nine hitters out, but he’s also only allowed one walk. His groundball rate isn’t all that great, but PNC Park is a nice place to keep your home run rate lower than normal. He’s certainly been effective to this point, and that’s all the Pirates can really ask for from him. I think his lack of options will keep him in the Majors after Gerrit Cole’s Saturday return, but a good performance today certainly won’t hurt his case. Starling Marte is still out tonight, even though he supposedly doesn’t have a concussion.
Daisuke Matsuzaka starts for the Mets. Yes, Daisuke Matsuzaka. He started the year as a reliever but has mostly been a starter for about a month now. His ERA looks nice, but he’s been walking hitters like crazy. I don’t know if he’s still a human rain delay on the mound, but I suspect that he is. Hope you’ve cleared your schedule for the evening.
The first pitch tonight is at 7:05.
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