Pre-game: Morton vs. Colon
Game: Pirates (23-28) at Mets (23-28)
Time: 1:10 p.m.
Site: Citi Field
TV, radio: Root Sports, KDKA-FM 93.7
Weather: 60s, partly cloudy
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NEW YORK - Charlie Morton and the Pirates face Bartolo Colon and the Mets today, with a chance to win the series before departing on a west coast trip.
Colon, who is a high percentage fastball pitcher, will pose some challenges.
"He’s going to come right at you and challenge you with fastballs. Breaking ball, you might see one or two. I think you see two breaking balls in an at-bat it’s a lot. It’s over 90 percent fastball rate," said manager Clint Hurdle.
Th effectiveness of that fastball, said Hurdle is in part due to deception in delivery and the way the ball finishes.
"Fast is a relative term. There’s deception to the delivery. Sometimes if you watch pitches you might not see a big long arm…he’s got deception to his delivery. Some guys throw a heavier ball. Some guys throw a lighter ball. his ball seems to finish well. Those combinations of things, there’s something to it because he’s done it for a number of years."
Grilli Note: Hurdle said he feels Jason Grilli is "pretty much ready" to being slotted back into the closer role. Sounds like any day now.
"I think he’s ready," said Hurdle. "I truly think he’s pretty much ready. But I want to see what I need to see. One last look. I haven’t looked at he tape yet. It’s very soon. It’s coming."
Volquez Note: Volquez' velocity spiked higher than usual according to the radar gun at Citi Field on Tuesday - topping at 98 mph, and hitting 96, 97 on a semi-frequent basis. Volquez dismissed those numbers after the game, and said it must've been an error, but catcher Russell Martin wasn't convinced and said Volquez was throwing very firm.
Here is complete audio from Hurdle's session with media this morning.
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Pirates lineup:
- Josh Harrison RF
- Neil Walker 2B
- Andrew McCutchen CF
- Ike Davis 1B
- Starling Marte LF
- Pedro Alvarez 3B
- Jordy Mercer SS
- Chris Stewart C
- Charlie Morton RHP
Mets lineup:
- Juan Lagares CF
- Daniel Murphy 2B
- David Wright 3B
- Curtis Granderson RF
- Chris Young LF
- Lucas Duda 1B
- Ruben Tejada SS
- Juan Centeno C
- Bartolo Colon RHP
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