The Pirates (40 – 27) have a tough task ahead of them this afternoon as they take on the Dodgers (28 – 38) as Brandon Cumpton makes his ML Debut against Clayton Kershaw (5 – 4, 1.88 ERA).
Leading Off
— Starling Marte remains out of the lineup with rib discomfort. If he is unable to return to the lineup by the end of the weekend, he will make a stint on the DL.
— Today’s starter, Brandon Cumpton posted a 4 – 4 record in AAA Indy with a 3.31 ERA. He recorded 49 strikeouts in 65 1/3 innings.
Hurdle’s Quotes
On the emotions of making your first career start in the Majors – “This is significant, it’s special and then you just hope you can get him out there and get through the feelings and emotions. You look at Charlie (Morton) the other day, Charlie was all gassed up for the first inning, as well, I mean, he’s done it before, so I think it’s a good thing.
Other Notes
— RHP Stolmy Pimentel (Came over in the Hanrahan trade) has been promoted to AAA Indianapolis. He went 4-3 with a 3.61 ERA and 61 K in 77.1 IP across 13 starts with Double-A Altoona this season.
— Wandy Rodriguez (15 fastballs) and Jeanmar Gomez threw bullpen sessions today. Gomez threw 3 innings and 65 pitches for AAA Indy in a rehab start and should pitch another on Tuesday. No word on when Wandy will start his.
— John Heyman of CBS Sports has reported that Mark Appel has agreed to a contract with the Astros worth 6 – 6.5 M. Appel was drafted in the first round by the Pirates last year, but decided to stay for his senior season at Stanford instead of sign.
— Last night marked the Pirates 11th shutout of the season and 6th in the last 24 games. This is the most amount of shutouts in the first 67 games since the 1908 team did the same.
First pitch is set for 4:05
(Photo Credit: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
