What: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Where: Miller Park
When: 8:10 EST
The Pirates will start 2016's final series in Milwaukee tonight. They find themselves in a race, though not the one they were hoping to be in a few short months ago. Instead of racing for the division title or a Wild Card berth, they find themselves racing just to get a winning record. At 74-75, the Bucs are in danger of having their first losing season since 2012. 2012, of course, capped a record streak of twenty consecutive losing seasons. While all players and team officials, and most fans, will tell you that all they care about is making the Playoffs and winning a World Series, I think that deep down, everyone wants the Pirates to finish above .500 and avoid the bitter taste associated with that twenty year streak.
With thirteen games left, the Pirates need to go 8-5 to finish 82-80. It's doable, but with the Nationals and Cubs on the upcoming schedule, taking care of business in Milwaukee is a must.
The Pirates will start lefty Stephen Brault. Brault has had his ups and downs this year. After debuting on July 5th, he's made starts here and there but never really stuck in the rotation. His 3.90 ERA seems at least passable, but a few of his starts inspired little to no confidence in his ability to pitch well in big games against good teams. While that is certainly not the situation Brault finds himself in tonight (the Brewers are out of the race completely -- this game doesn't matter for either team), it is still worth noting. At this point, the Pirates are essentially holding tryouts for next year's starting rotation. They intend on playing big games throughout the 2017 season, and they need to know which pitchers to put their stock in. If Brault can't put up good numbers on nights like tonight, there is little hope that he will be trusted with a rotation spot next season.
The Pirates Lineup:
Adam Frazier LF
Josh Bell 1B
Andrew McCutchen CF
Gregory Polanco RF
Jung Ho Kang 3B
Francisco Cervelli C
Sean Rodriguez 2B
Jordy Mercer SS
Stephen Brault P
Frazier leading off again presents another interesting audition. Josh Harrison is on the DL for the rest of the season, and his health, combined with his erratic play this season, have many wondering what is best for the Pirates as far as their 2017 second base position goes. One of the non-Harrison options is Frazier, who has shown great speed and a knack for getting on base. It's hard to say whether the Pirates would consider starting Harrison on the bench in 2017, but Frazier is an option to play innings at 2B and the Pirates are getting him at-bats here as an extended audition. Another player who could get innings at 2B next year is Alan Hanson. Hanson hasn't received much playing time, which leads one to believe that his chances of getting serious playing time early next year are slim. He's one to keep an eye on though.
Rodriguez is coming off a monster week in which he hit four homers. As much as he's struggled at times, and punched water coolers at others, he's proven himself to be a useful guy to have around. I'd bet on the Pirates resigning him this winter.
Don't expect to see much of Starling Marte the rest of the season. His back has been acting up, and the Pirates' no. 1 priority with him should be having him at 100% on April 1st, 2017.
The Brewers will start righty Matt Garza. The Pirates know him extremely well. He's pitched to a 4.22 ERA this season. Pirates who know him well, like Mccutcheon, Mercer, Polanco, and Cervelli, should be able to hit him. But getting shut out over seven innings by Matt Garza would be a very Pirates-At-Miller-Park thing to do. We'll see.
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