Big Joe v Zach Eflin, Lineup & Notes

Game: It’s a Saturday night game, starting at 7:05. It will be carried on AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan. Big night – it’s the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the 1979 World Series Championship club. Both teams will sport throwback uniforms, with pre-game intros of members of the Squad. Fans also get a Vintage Bobblehead (meaning not an identifiable player) in a 1979 uniform as a giveaway. As an added attraction, Lanny Frattare will also get special recognition from the club. On top of all that, it’s Pitt Night, with a special H2P section and free hybrid Pitt/Pirates caps. It’s a sold out event, but if you’re wondering about blue & gold instead of black and gold at the yard, there you are…

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Bryan Reynolds RF, Starling Marte CF, Josh Bell 1B, Colin Moran 3B, Corey Dickerson LF, Kevin Newman SS, Jake Stallings C, Joe Musgrove P. Jake sure been seeing alot of time behind the dish…

Pitchers: RHP Joe Musgrove (6-8/4.31) goes in the middle match against RHP Zach Eflin (7-9/4.16). Big Joe has given the Bucs the best chance among the original rotation to hang around in games. Since June, he’s slashed 3-2/3.89, but in his last two games, he’s given up seven earned runs (eight overall) in 10-2/3IP, so he’s been in a recent rut too. In his last four games, Eflin has given up six runs+ three times and surrendered seven homers in his last 20 IP, so he’s part of that shaky trend, too. But his only outing against the Bucs was as a rookie in 2016, and it was strong – he tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout.

Notes:

• The Pirates announced Friday that Trevor Williams was bumped from today’s start because of “severe flu-like symptoms,” so Joe Musgrove will man up tonight. He’ll be on regular rest thanks to Thursday being an off day.
• The Pirates have lost six-of-seven since the All-Star break, falling to 45-51 overall and are 7-1/2 games behind the Cubs.