Willy v Carlos Hernandez, Lineup & Notes: Start Delayed

Game: The contest was scheduled for 7:05 and will be on AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan. It’s now expected to start a half hour or so late; a shooter in the Arrowhead parking lot was arrested after a police standoff and the incident delayed the arrival of the Pirates coming from their hotel to next-door Kauffman Stadium. 2020, bruh…

Lineup: Erik Gonzalez SS, Adam Frazier LF, Ke’Bryan Hayes 3B, Colin Moran DH, Josh Bell 1B, Gregory Polanco RF, Bryan Reynolds CF, Kevin Newman 2B, Jacob Stallings C and Trevor Williams P. Key hangs on to the three spot and B-Rey drops from his more usual five hole to sixth. Jake has been busy; he’s starting for the fifth time in six games.

Pitchers: RHP Trevor Williams (1-6, 5.80) spins against RHP Carlos Hernandez (0-0, 1.42). Willy’s problem is pretty obvious – he’s given up seven homers in his last 16 IP (and 16 runs), and that’s pretty much negated the strong first month he posted. So we’ll see if the solid Williams (3.70 ERA in his first five starts) or chilly Willy takes the hill. Hernandez is a 23-year-old rookie making his first MLB start after a couple of nice relief outings, replacing the struggling Matt Harvey in the rotation. He’s making the jump from A Ball last year to the show this season; KC sure believes in throwing their guys right into the fire.

Notes:

• The Pirates Charities Backpack sale is happening online and will be on the air tonight & tomorrow afternoon; the basic “Home Run” package goes for $200 and the big kahuna “Grand Slam” deal for $500. The weekend sales helps support Pirates Charities. 
• The Braves DFA’d LHP Robbie Erlin, who started this season with the Bucs.