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Pirates pregame: Cole vs. Verlander

By Stephen J. Nesbitt / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 8 years ago


RF Gregory Polanco (Peter Diana/Post-Gazette)

Game: Pirates (42-33) at Tigers (39-36)

Time: 7:08 p.m.

Site: Comerica Park

TV, radio: ROOT Sports, KDKA-FM 93.7

Weather: Cloudy


Pirates

1. Gregory Polanco RF

2. Neil Walker 2B

3. Andrew McCutchen CF

4. Starling Marte LF

5. Jung Ho Kang 3B

6. Pedro Alvarez 3B

7. Francisco Cervelli DH

8. Jordy Mercer SS

9. Chris Stewart C

Gerrit Cole RHP

Tigers

1. Anthony Gose CF

2. Ian Kinsler 2B

3. Miguel Cabrera 1B

4. Victor Martinez DH

5. Yoenis Cespedes LF

6. J.D. Martinez RF

7. Nick Castellanos 3B

8. James McCann C

9. Jose Iglesias SS

Justin Verlander RHP


• Rest day today for Josh Harrison, so Gregory Polanco is back in the leadoff spot because he’s got experience there. 

• Francisco Cervelli gets the call at DH. Why? Well he’s batting .303, for one, and Clint Hurdle didn’t want his everyday catcher having back-to-back days off, with an off day Monday and Chris Stewart catching Gerrit Cole today. "We're not a team built with a DH,“ Hurdle said, ”so how can you best use that opportunity. Maybe it's a guy coming off the bench who you're telling it's four pinch-hits, go with that mentality tonight."

• Hurdle said it’s always good to be home in Michigan. "I love it. I'm wired different now, so it's always one of the first things I look for on the schedule. My dad's with me this time. Our fathers' trip. ... One of my best trips here was spending an afternoon at the Detroit public library with Ernie Harwell and Don Baylor going into Ernie's part of the museum that was put in. We spent three hours together. I listened to Ernie as a kid in the summer on the radio. I can take you all the way back. It's special for me. Always has been, always will. Playing in Tiger Stadium, leaving 50 or 60 tickets my first game here back as a player in the big leagues. Grandma was here, Grandpa. Everybody. Anytime you can go back to when you were a kid, man, it's good. This place always takes me back there. ... To spend three hours with Ernie Harwell and to have him walk through his part of the museum and describe every photo and put names to team pictures with no notes, no cliff notes. It was incredible. It was the best lunch I've ever had."

• Gorkys Hernandez and Sean Rodriguez as options 4 and 4A in the oufield, Hurdle said. No difference between them. Which I usually hear as 4A and 4B, but whatever. "Gorkys is a premius defender at all three spots. He caught our eye in spring training, was a different player than we'd seen last time in a Pirates uniform. ... The defense is plus-plus, the arm is accurate, he's maybe a foot step slower than three years ago, but the speed is above average ... and the bat has been consistent."

• Deolis Guerra was called up over the weekend because he could “replicate” Rob Scahill’s skill set better than Chris Volstad could, Hurdle explained.