Sunday: Rox Finale - Chase De Jong v Kyle Freeland As Pirates Look For Trifecta

Today’s Game: The series ender starts at 1:05 as the Bucs look for a sweep. AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan will cover the game.

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B; Kevin Newman SS; Bryan Reynolds CF; Jake Stallings C; Gregory Polanco RF; Will Craig 1B; Erik Gonzalez 3B; Ka’ai Tom LF; Chase DeJong P.

Pitchers: RHP Chase De Jong finishes the set against LHP Kyle Freeland (0-0/2.25). Chase, 27, won today’s musical chair rotation start. He has 15 MLB outings (10 starts) for three teams; this will be his Bucco debut after signing as a FA. He was impressive in camp and solid at Indy (2-0/3.60) to earn a look today. We expect he’ll get an extended opportunity, as he’s out of options. Freeland just came off the IL (shoulder strain), working four solid innings against the Mets in his first start of the campaign. He hasn’t faced the Bucs since 2018.

Notes:

• Well, that didn’t last long: UT Ildemaro Vargas was DFA’ed to accommodate Ka’ai Tom’s return. De Jong replaced JT Brubaker, who went on the bereavement list. It’s not certain how long Bru will miss.
• Colin Moran and Phillip Evans will reportedly start rehab assignments early this week. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Austin Davis are already at Indy. Chad Kuhl, who just finished two rehab starts, and De Jong need permanent roster room. Looking ahead, there’s going to be quite a bit of personnel churn when the guys start coming back over the coming week.
• Yesterday was the first time Pirates have had two shutouts in a doubleheader since Oct. 3, 1976 against the Cardinals at TRS behind Jim Rooker and Jerry Reuss. They were both 1-0, complete game wins. Of course, they were nine-inning games back in the day, but hey…

Tomorrow’s Game: The Bucs will spend Memorial Day in Kansas City. The 8:10 game will be on ESPN, AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan, with Chad Kuhl expected to take on Mike Minor.