Charlie Morton and Tom Gorzelanny take the mound tonight. Morton has been quite solid of late. If the Pirates are planning on winning the division, losing tonight would be a poor strategic move. It's easy to joke about Gorzelanny, but he's been fairly solid for the Brewers this year. Except for all of the home runs he's served up.
Marlon Byrd and John Buck are officially Pittsburgh Pirates tonight. Byrd is starting and batting cleanup against the lefty Gorzelanny. To make room for them, Tony Sanchez and Jeff Locke have both been sent to Double-A. The reason they're being sent to Double-A is that Altoona's season ends on Labor Day, which means both will be eligible for recall on September 3rd at that point and not after the full ten days after their demotion.
What it does mean almost for certain is this: Jeff Locke will not start for the Pirates against the Cardinals on Sunday. That starter could come from within — Jeanmar Gomez is pitching well lately — or the Pirates could promote someone. Because that game is on September 1st, they could promote someone without having to lost a player off of the roster. We'll have to wait and see what happens.
First pitch tonight is at 7:05.
