PNC Park –The Pirates (26 \u2013 18) finish their 10-game homestand with a 3-game tilt with the Chicago Cubs (18 \u2013 25). Matt Garza will be making his first start of the 2013 season for the Cubs while Wandy Rodriguez (4 \u2013 2, 3.25 ERA) will oppose him for the Pirates. Wandy is coming off two straight starts where he gave up one run and six hits in six and seven innings respectively.<\/p>\n
Hurdle\u2019s Notes<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 On the team supporting the Pens in their playoff push \u2013 <\/strong>\u201cWe\u2019re wearing Penguin jerseys the entire trip; here to Milwaukee, Milwaukee to Detroit, Detroit back home. We\u2019re all in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a large contingency that have their finger to the pulse of Penguins hockey and they pull the other ones in regardless, weather if they want to or not. It\u2019s cool, anytime you\u2019re in a city where you can pick up the phone or send a text to another coach and wish them well and the players have their contacts and they have their relationships. It\u2019s a special time of the year. It\u2019s hard to beat playoff hockey. It\u2019s one of the most wonderful times of the year, and our team\u2019s in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 On Andrew McCutchen being cleared to play tonight \u2013 <\/strong>\u201cWe anticipated him being in a good place today, but he visited the training room and let them know he was feeling much better. We moved him around a little bit then he went into the strength and conditioning room and worked out a little bit. Their claiming that he\u2019s good to go, so he\u2019ll be back out and in play, playing centerfield and hitting third.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 On setting a lineup using more than just statistics against a certain pitcher \u2013 <\/strong>\u201cThe numbers, in and of themselves, cause I\u2019ve got a buddy that will grab a 5-for-7 and say he\u2019s wearing that guy (opposing pitcher) out, then I\u2019ll say he\u2019s got two bunt hits, two hits off the butt of the bat, and one line drive single. Then there\u2019s another guy who\u2019s 2-for-8 and he\u2019s absolutely hit five missiles at people, hadn\u2019t got a hit. Where do you want to go? That\u2019s the gut feeling, do you go with the guy that finds a way to get base hits or do you go with the guy that\u2019s had bad luck? So it\u2019s a little deeper than just the numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n Other Notes<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n — Jordy Mercer, resident of Edmond, OK, said that yesterday\u2019s catastrophic tornado that hit Moore, OK was 20 miles south of his home. He said that he wished he were back home to help\u00a0and he appreciates all of the support that fellow athletes have shown towards the state. “Oklahoma seems to come together when things like this happens”\u00a0He also mentioned that all of his family and friends were safe. Thoughts and prayers go out to all effected from this tornado outbreak.<\/p>\n — Jared Hughes has been optioned to AAA Indianapolis to make room for Jose Contreras, who has come off the bereavement list due to a death in his family. In speaking with Hughes, he said he hopes to be back with the team soon.<\/p>\n — Andrew McCutchen loves facing Cubs hitting. In 59 career games against Chicago, Cutch is hitting .330 (66-for-200) with 9 homers, 32 RBI, and 40 runs. He has also reached base safely in 55 of 59 games.<\/p>\n — In three starts against the Pirates, Matt Garza is 1 \u2013 1 with a 3.79 ERA in 19 innings pitched. He has allowed 3 homers against the Buccos.<\/p>\n — The Cubs are 12 \u2013 6 in their last 18 games at PNC and have won 7 of their last 9. Prior to that stretch, the Cubs were 1 \u2013 6 from May 4, 2010 \u2013 July 8, 2011.<\/p>\n –Since coming to the Cubs in 2007, Alfonso Soriano has hit a major-league leading 25 homers against the Pirates.<\/p>\n First pitch is set for 7:05.<\/p>\n (Photo Credit: AP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PNC Park –The Pirates (26 \u2013 18) finish their 10-game homestand with a 3-game tilt with the Chicago Cubs (18 \u2013 25). Matt Garza will be making his first start of the 2013 season for the Cubs while Wandy Rodriguez (4 \u2013 2, 3.25 ERA) will oppose him for the Pirates. Wandy is coming off […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[625,428,1215,1391,520,123,377,2058],"class_list":["post-15239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional","tag-andrew-mccutchen","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-jordy-mercer","tag-matt-garza","tag-mlb","tag-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-pittsburgh-pirates","tag-wandy-rodriguez"],"yoast_head":"\n