Game 151, Mariners at Pirates
Marco Gonzales vs. Mitch Keller, 4:10pm
Well. The M’s head east after a successful homestand against Cincinnati and Chicago, and now face not just a bad team, but a bad team in turmoil.
This morning, fans got word that Pirates closer Felipe Vasquez had been arrested, and reports out of Florida show one of the charges is solicitation of a child. Pirates players getting ready for this game now have to answer questions about Vazquez, a player who’d been in the news just weeks ago for a fight he got into with fellow pitcher Kyle Crick. At this point, Dejan Kovacevic is reporting that Vasquez’s locker is cleared out, and as he was denied bail, he’s uhhhh not gonna be available.
It’s been an awful year for the Pirates in general, as this LL post details. They’d been contenders, but like the Royals and, uh, the Mariners, those days are now over, and they’re paying the price. While they don’t quite have the farm system the M’s do to build their hope around, they’ve got a lot of young talent who’ve debuted this year or had their first full campaigns in the majors, and at least on the position player side, it’s not bad. They’re led by SS Kevin Newman, who’s hitting .318/.364/.463 thanks to an exceedingly low K rate. They’ve also got CF Bryan Reynolds, who’s opened eyes, but isn’t playing tonight. 1B Josh Bell had a massive breakout in the first half, slugging HRs out of PNC park, but has fallen back to earth a bit in the second half, and has been shut down for the year with lingering injuries.
Their top prospect coming into the year, Mitch Keller, gets tonight’s start. Keller throws very hard, at 95-98, and has a decent slider at 89. He’s been brutally unlucky thus far, but is having real trouble with left-handed batters.
1: Long, LF
2: Crawford, SS
3: Seager, 3B
4: Lewis, RF
5: Narvaez, C
6: Nola, 1B
7: Gordon, 2B
8: Smith, CF
9/SP: Marcoooo
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Kind of fun seeing Lewis bat clean up.
Kind of fun watching Seattle beat up on the Pirates.