MIAMI — Looking ahead to first pitch …
Game: Pirates (75-49) vs. Miami Marlins (51-75), 7:10 p.m., Marlins Park
Pitchers: LHP Jeff Locke (6-8, 4.56) vs. LHP Chris Narveson (1-0, 3.86)
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday | Multimedia | Media notes
Update 5:35 p.m.: The Pirates announced that 2014 first-round draft pick Cole Tucker underwent surgery today to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. The 19-year-old shortstop is expected to miss 10 to 12 months. Tucker hit .293/.322/.377 in 73 games for the low Class A West Virginia Power this season.
Matt’s five pregame notes:
• After losing a game in the standings to the Cardinals and Cubs Tuesday night, the Pirates attempt to rebound against the 33-year-old Narveson, making his first MLB start since 2012. He replaced the injured Kendry Flores in the Miami rotation, but he’s yet to throw more than 44 pitches in his six relief appearances this month.
“We have film of him from different locales,” Clint Hurdle said. “It’s craft, it’s experience, it’s spin and location. It’s not velocity. We need to get the ball up and hit it to the big part of the ballpark.”
• A second consecutive day against a left-handed starter means eight righties in Hurdle’s lineup, counting Neil Walker. Josh Harrison gets two starts in a row, as does Michael Morse, a first since he joined the Pirates on July 31.
Morse knows his role on the club, but he said the additional game at-bats help find the confidence he’s been searching for since he began the season with Miami. He hit .213/.276/.313 in 53 games for the Marlins, but has a .774 OPS in 29 Pirates at-bats.
“Staring to feel like myself,” he said, “and myself is pretty good.”
• It’s a scheduled day off for Francisco Cervelli, who said he was “OK” after his painful run-in with a foul tip off his right foot. That gives Chris Stewart his first action since Saturday, when he caught Gerrit Cole, so it looks like tomorrow night will feature the return of the Cervelli-Cole battery.
That also means Stewart was too busy to pull out his recent pregame reading material, a massive biography of President John Adams. In an era of smartphones and tablets, that choice stands out.
• Starling Marte pulled off the strangest of his MLB-best 12 outfield assists Tuesday night, nonchalantly throwing out Adeiny Hechavarria at third base when he tried to stretch a double down the left-field line. I asked Hurdle if Hechavarria’s boldness might have surprised Marte.
“That might have been the case,” Hurdle said. “One of the things you’ve got to be cognizant of in this ballpark is that there’s a cranny down (in the corner). I think he wanted to make sure the ball got by the cranny. He was trying to make a smart play. It’s a learning lesson. You write what you saw, but at the end of the day he’s out at third with a perfect throw.”
• Hurdle on outfield assists by Marte and Gregory Polanco and whether they cover up for fielding mistakes like the one Andrew McCutchen made that allowed the Marlins to score the go-ahead run: “I don’t think there’s such a thing as ‘canceling out.’ It’s not like it didn’t happen. There comes a time when interest has to be paid, but we can play through situations and know it’s not the end of the world, while still working to get better.”
Follow the game with Matt:
7:11: Pirates back in their black tops with the ‘P’ logo on the left side of the chest. Marlins in whites again. Harrison leads off with a full-count walk.
7:16: McCutchen remains good at baseball. His fifth hit of the series — a stinging double into the left-field corner — scores Harrison from first. 1-nil Pirates.
7:28: Martin Prado sends a 2-2 pitch from Locke over the left-field wall. First homer of the series for either team sets the infamous ‘sculpture’ into motion. 1-1 after one.
7:32: 2-1 Pittsburgh. That’s a long way for Walker to hit one from the right side of the plate. His RBI double plates Morse, who had doubled to lead off the second.
7:33: Narveson getting smacked around. Stewart singles up the middle on three hops and it’s 3-1.
7:45: That’s as close to batting practice as you’ll see in an MLB game. Pirates get six runs on six hits, with McCutchen’s 420-foot three-run homer to left serving as the crescendo. 7-1 Pirates after 1 1/2 innings.
8:28: Well, Locke is through four innings and has allowed some hard-hit balls, but he has kept this margin relatively comfortable at 7-2.
8:58: Locke gets Marcell Ozuna to chase an off-speed pitch up and away, finishing a 1-2-3 inning. We are through six in Miami.
9:14: He’s through seven, ladies and gentlemen. Locke has thrown 95 pitches, so it’s uncertain whether he comes out for the eighth. Nevertheless, it’s tied for his fourth-longest start of the season.
9:37: What’s this? A relatively low-stress Pirates win? They’re three outs away.
9:42: Indeed it is. Joe Blanton whiffs the side as the final 15 Marlins go down in order.
August 26, 2015
Final: Pirates 7, Marlins 2
by Matt Gajtka • Game previews • Pirates
MIAMI — Looking ahead to first pitch …
Game: Pirates (75-49) vs. Miami Marlins (51-75), 7:10 p.m., Marlins Park
Pitchers: LHP Jeff Locke (6-8, 4.56) vs. LHP Chris Narveson (1-0, 3.86)
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday | Multimedia | Media notes
Update 5:35 p.m.: The Pirates announced that 2014 first-round draft pick Cole Tucker underwent surgery today to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. The 19-year-old shortstop is expected to miss 10 to 12 months. Tucker hit .293/.322/.377 in 73 games for the low Class A West Virginia Power this season.
Matt’s five pregame notes:
• After losing a game in the standings to the Cardinals and Cubs Tuesday night, the Pirates attempt to rebound against the 33-year-old Narveson, making his first MLB start since 2012. He replaced the injured Kendry Flores in the Miami rotation, but he’s yet to throw more than 44 pitches in his six relief appearances this month.
“We have film of him from different locales,” Clint Hurdle said. “It’s craft, it’s experience, it’s spin and location. It’s not velocity. We need to get the ball up and hit it to the big part of the ballpark.”
• A second consecutive day against a left-handed starter means eight righties in Hurdle’s lineup, counting Neil Walker. Josh Harrison gets two starts in a row, as does Michael Morse, a first since he joined the Pirates on July 31.
Morse knows his role on the club, but he said the additional game at-bats help find the confidence he’s been searching for since he began the season with Miami. He hit .213/.276/.313 in 53 games for the Marlins, but has a .774 OPS in 29 Pirates at-bats.
“Staring to feel like myself,” he said, “and myself is pretty good.”
• It’s a scheduled day off for Francisco Cervelli, who said he was “OK” after his painful run-in with a foul tip off his right foot. That gives Chris Stewart his first action since Saturday, when he caught Gerrit Cole, so it looks like tomorrow night will feature the return of the Cervelli-Cole battery.
That also means Stewart was too busy to pull out his recent pregame reading material, a massive biography of President John Adams. In an era of smartphones and tablets, that choice stands out.
• Starling Marte pulled off the strangest of his MLB-best 12 outfield assists Tuesday night, nonchalantly throwing out Adeiny Hechavarria at third base when he tried to stretch a double down the left-field line. I asked Hurdle if Hechavarria’s boldness might have surprised Marte.
“That might have been the case,” Hurdle said. “One of the things you’ve got to be cognizant of in this ballpark is that there’s a cranny down (in the corner). I think he wanted to make sure the ball got by the cranny. He was trying to make a smart play. It’s a learning lesson. You write what you saw, but at the end of the day he’s out at third with a perfect throw.”
• Hurdle on outfield assists by Marte and Gregory Polanco and whether they cover up for fielding mistakes like the one Andrew McCutchen made that allowed the Marlins to score the go-ahead run: “I don’t think there’s such a thing as ‘canceling out.’ It’s not like it didn’t happen. There comes a time when interest has to be paid, but we can play through situations and know it’s not the end of the world, while still working to get better.”
Follow the game with Matt:
7:11: Pirates back in their black tops with the ‘P’ logo on the left side of the chest. Marlins in whites again. Harrison leads off with a full-count walk.
7:16: McCutchen remains good at baseball. His fifth hit of the series — a stinging double into the left-field corner — scores Harrison from first. 1-nil Pirates.
7:28: Martin Prado sends a 2-2 pitch from Locke over the left-field wall. First homer of the series for either team sets the infamous ‘sculpture’ into motion. 1-1 after one.
7:32: 2-1 Pittsburgh. That’s a long way for Walker to hit one from the right side of the plate. His RBI double plates Morse, who had doubled to lead off the second.
7:33: Narveson getting smacked around. Stewart singles up the middle on three hops and it’s 3-1.
7:45: That’s as close to batting practice as you’ll see in an MLB game. Pirates get six runs on six hits, with McCutchen’s 420-foot three-run homer to left serving as the crescendo. 7-1 Pirates after 1 1/2 innings.
8:28: Well, Locke is through four innings and has allowed some hard-hit balls, but he has kept this margin relatively comfortable at 7-2.
8:58: Locke gets Marcell Ozuna to chase an off-speed pitch up and away, finishing a 1-2-3 inning. We are through six in Miami.
9:14: He’s through seven, ladies and gentlemen. Locke has thrown 95 pitches, so it’s uncertain whether he comes out for the eighth. Nevertheless, it’s tied for his fourth-longest start of the season.
9:37: What’s this? A relatively low-stress Pirates win? They’re three outs away.
9:42: Indeed it is. Joe Blanton whiffs the side as the final 15 Marlins go down in order.