Look, I can’t spend much more time talking about the bullpen or the Pirates’ record against the non-Cubs teams in the NL Central. The bullpen needs to pitch better in close games that they don’t have a lead in, and the Pirates need to win games against the Cardinals, Cubs, and Reds. That’s it.
Starling Marte is not with the team tonight, as he’s headed back to the Dominican Republic on bereavement leave. Matt Hague will take his place for his first stint with the Bucs since 2012. He’s apparently listed as available for tonight, though he’s not in St. Louis quite yet. The Pirates will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move for him when he arrives, because the roster recently hit 40 with the acquisition of Dean Anna. They will presumably announce that move as soon as necessary. Hague will probably only be up for a few days, but he has hit pretty well with Indy this year (.267/.363/.456 with 13 doubles and 13 homers), so he should at the very least be a bat worth going to off the bench for the next couple of days.
Brandon Cumpton starts tonight, though he’ll probably be sent down for Liriano’s start over the weekend. He’s made one start since being demoted, and it wasn’t particularly great. Lance Lynn goes for the Cardinals. He’s pitching well this year, but the Pirates have seemed to have his number of late.
First pitch tonight is at 8:15, and I believe the game will be on ESPN.
