The Pirates have had a very odd penchant for losing the first game of a four game series, then ripping off three straight wins. This has already happened three times this year and I would very much like to make it four against the Brewers tonight. Among other things, it would certainly put the Pirates well on their way to the 5-2 record that I hoped to see from these seven games against the Brewers and Astros at the beginning of the week.
Francisco Liriano makes his second start as a Pirate tonight, and I'm curious to see how he looks against a lineup with way more punch in it than the Mets have. It sure seemed like Liriano's stuff had good movement and that he had good command of it against the Mets, but I think we'll learn quite a bit more about where he is right now from a start against the Brewers. The Brewers are sending Hiram Burgos to the mound. In his last start, he got rocked for 11 hits and 12 runs (10 earned) against the Reds. His start before that was against the Pirates, where he was decent but also allowed homers to Mike McKenry and Pedro Alvarez. I'd like to see the Bucs pile some runs on Burgos so that Liriano has a bit of a cushion.
First pitch tonight is at 7:05.
