I’m not sure how a team goes about hammering Danny Haren on Thursday and getting shut down by Doug Davis on Saturday, but these Pirates manage to pull this sort of thing off all the time. Today, they draw Max Scherzer, who averages more than a strikeout an inning and seems like the sort of young pitcher that should give the Pirates’ offense fits, even if his ERA is below 6.00.
Virgil Vasquez goes for the Bucs, and even though he was solid in his last outing I feel like he’s pitching for his job every time out with Karstens pitching so well in the bullpen, Snell dominating down at Indianapolis, and the time growing near that Tom Gorzelanny can be promoted without worrying about ruining his arbitration status. Arizona strikes out about as much as anyone in the NL (just ten strikeouts behind the Marlins for the league lead), so they might be a good matchup for Vasquez. They have been pounding the ball lately, though, and I have a sinking feeling that things could get ugly fast for VV today.
