Willy v Joe Ross, Lineup & Notes

Game: The Pirates kick it off against the Nats at 7:05. The game will be on AT&T SportsNet, MLB Network (out of market) and 93.7 The Fan.

Lineup: Adam Frazier 2B, Bryan Reynolds LF, Starling Marte CF, Josh Bell 1B, Colin Moran 3B, Melky Cabrera RF, Kevin Newman SS, Elias Diaz C, Trevor Williams P.

Pitchers: RHP Trevor Williams (5-5/5.25) opens against RHP Joe Ross (3-3/5.91). Willy’s on a nine-game bummer (which includes a couple of weeks in the IL) – he’s 4-5 over that span, but with a 7.28 ERA and just a pair of quality starts. He beat Washington in April, giving up two runs in 6-1/3 IP on the road to a 6-3 victory. Ross is trending the opposite of Williams – he’s 3-0/0.50 in his last three starts, covering 18 innings, following a tough couple of starts returning to the rotation after being in the pen all year. He hasn’t tossed against the Pirates since 2016.

Notes:

• The Pirates are 51-72 and lost 27 of 34 since the AS break. The Bucs took 2-of-3 from Washington in April. The Nats are back in the hunt,leading in the Wild Card standings and 5-1/2 games behind the Braves (four in the loss column) in the NL East.
• Altoona OF Logan Hill was named the Eastern League Player of the Week. He went 11-of-24 with three homers, three doubles and nine RBI over that span.
• If you’re one of the fans who like to vacation in Florida while the Pirates are in camp, here’s their 2020 spring training sked, with Opening Day on February 22nd.