The Pirates (24 – 17), fresh off of their series victory over the Brewers, open up a 3-game interleague series against the Astros (11 – 30). This will be the only series between the two former NL Central foes as the Astros moved to the AL West after last season. The Pirates have an 18 – 7 home record against Houston in their last 25 games.
Hurdle’s Notes
On Gaby Sanchez transitioning from every day starter, to platoon player – “It speaks to his character as well as his skill set. He went from being a very, very good baseball player for two years in Miami. He ran into a hard year, last season.
“We got him at a good point in time where things weren’t working the way he expected and I think the environment change helped him. The climate in the clubhouse has helped him as well. He’s willing to work with whatever opportunity he gets.”
On Jeanmar Gomez’s success as a fill-in starter – “He’s got the ball. He understands the responsibility of the spot in the rotation, he’s done it before. I think that’s one of the things he’s embraced. He’s getting the opportunity, now, to do it. He knows what he needs to do to be effective. We’re confident when he takes the mound and he is, as well based on every time he’s taken the ball, he’s pitched a competitive game for us, whether in long-relief or his three starts. “
On dealing with players when it comes to setting a lineup – “Everybody will tell you that they’re all in till that lineup gets posted from time-to-time and they don’t happen to be in it and that’s one of the things that we’ve been able to work through very professionally here.
“They understand the big picture and the good teams that go on to play late, you hear it every year, it took all of us and there’s different guys that you rely upon through the course of the season to provide sparks, like Tabata in New York or Snider last night.”
Other Notes
— Catcher, Russell Martin leads the majors with 9 caught stealing’s. According to Elias, he has thrown out 225 base runners since his ML debut in 2006.
— As a starter, Jeanmar Gomez has a 1 – 0 record with a 1.93 ERA (3 ER / 14 IN) over three starts. The Pirates have won each of those games.
— Clint Barmes is on a seven game hit-streak (10-for-26, .385). In his last 15 games (starting on 4/27), he has gone 17-for-46 (.370) with two homers.
— The Shark Tank will be pretty stocked for tonight’s game. Only Bryan Morris will be unavailable out of the pen.
First pitch is set for 7:05.
(Photo Credit: David Hague)
