Pirates look to get bats going against Dodgers; pregame news and notes

Depending on the outcome of the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins first playoff game, the Pirates game that follows could be big.  If the Flyers upset the Penguins, Pittsburgh fans are going to count on the Pirates to uplift their spirits.  Luckily for the Pirates, their stretch of former Cy Young winners is over after facing Clayton Kershaw last night.  Similar to facing Vance Worley after Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee however, the Pirates won’t have a walk in the park against tonight’s starter.

Taking the mound for the Dodgers will be  27-year-old Chad Billingsley, many peoples dark horse to win the Cy Young this year.  Billingsley pitched 8.1 innings and struck out 11 on three hits against the San Diego Padres en route to his 1-0 record.  Squaring off against Billingsley for the Pirates will be Erik Bedard, who will be making his second start of the season.  Bedard, pitched seven innings on opening day allowing only one run against the Phillies.  Bedard, an off-season free agent acquisition by the Pirates, impressed the Pirates brass by throwing 21-of-26 first pitches for strikes.

Once again, the Pirates will need more production from their bats if they are going to beat the Dodgers.  The pitchers have proved they are able to go toe-to-toe with the opposition, but the bats haven’t been able to do the same.

Three things to watch:

1) Nate McLouth – The former Pirate fan favorite, will make his return to the starting lineup for the first time since returning to Pittsburgh.  McLouth is 4-13 lifetime off of Billingsley with a double, which could play part in McLouth getting the start.

2) Dominate pitching – The Pirates 1.50 team ERA leads the majors.  The bullpen has only given up one run on the season, a solo home run by Andre Ethier off of Jason Grilli in yesterday’s game.

3) Pirates offense – While the pitching has been dominate, the Pirates bats are still waiting to go north from Bradenton.  The Pirates .189 average is 26th in baseball.

Pirates (2-2) vs. Dodgers (4-1)

Erik Bedard (0-1, 1.29 ERA) vs. Chad Billingsley (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

First pitch 10:10 p.m. ET

Pirates lineup:

Presley – 7

McLouth – 9

McCutchen – 8

Walker – 4

Jones – 3

Barajas – 2

Alvarez – 5

Barmes – 6

Bedard – 1

Dodgers lineup:

Gordon – 6

Ellis – 4

Kemp – 8

Rivera – 3

Ethier 9 –

Hairston – 7

Uribe – 5

Ellis – 2

Billingsley – 1

Photo credits: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images