June starts out with some bad news for the Pirates; Charlie Morton is headed to the disabled list thanks to some elbow inflammation. Given the way that Morton’s pitched this year, it’s probably a good thing for him to get some rest and then work on whatever it is that he and the coaching staff needs worked on. Juan Cruz, back from attending to personal business in the Dominican, will replace him on the roster and presumably Brad Lincoln will replace him in the rotation until Jeff Karstens is ready to return. This also means that the Bucs will keep Doug Slaten on the roster, rather than lose him.
The Pirates open a three-game set in Miller Park tonight, which is obviously a place that hasn’t been friendly to the Pirates over the years. The Brewers got off to a rough start in 2012, but they just took four in a row from the Dodgers and so they’re generally playing pretty good baseball right now. They can still slug the ball (fourth in the NL in runs, third in homers), but their pitching is awfully lackluster. If the Pirates can get some good starts this weekend, maybe they have a chance to actually win some games in Miller Park.
Of course, Kevin Correia starts for the Pirates tonight, and so there’s a good chance that the Brewers will send some balls out of the park against him tonight. Randy Wolf goes for the Brewers, and he’s been absolutely brutal this year. The Pirates’ offense has shown some occasional signs of life in the last week; Wolf is the sort of pitcher that they need to beat up on.
First pitch tonight is at 8:10
