Ex-Pirates in the Playoffs

Greetings. I’m back and will resume posting. The Pirates’ season went down in flames but there’s still a month of exciting baseball left to watch. For those of you who are interested, here’s a list of ex-Pirates who’s teams are playing in the postseason. I’ll update the stats after each round.

Braves (Lost the Wild Card game)
Eric Hinske DNP
Paul Maholm (not active for wild card game)
Lyle Overbay DNP
David Ross 3 for 4, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 HR

Cardinals
None

Orioles
Nate McLouth 1 for 4, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 SB, SF

Rangers (Lost the Wild Card game)
None

Division Winners

Nationals
Adam LaRoche
Sean Burnett
Mike Gonzalez
Tom Gorzelanny

Reds
Ryan Ludwick
Bronson Arroyo
Xavier Paul

Giants
Ryan Vogelsong
Javier Lopez
Xavier Nady

Yankees
None

Athletics
Brandon Moss

Tigers
Octavio Dotel
Don Kelly

My picks for this postseason:
Nats over Cards, Reds over Giants, Orioles over Yankees, A’s over Tigers
Reds over Nats, A’s over O’s
A’s over Reds

Series Preview: The Reds

Current record: 60-44, 2nd place in NL Central, 3.5 games back

Up Next: Cincinnati Reds, 64-41, 1st place in NL Central, 3.5 games ahead

Season Series: 5-4 (1-2, 2-1, 2-1)

Notes: Here’s the big series we’ve been waiting for. The Reds have won 13 of 14 and 20 of 23 to expand their lead to 3.5 games. Joey Votto is still out and Brandon Phillips is questionable. The only move the Reds made at the deadline was to add Jonathan Broxton as a setup man. No lefty starters mean we won’t see much of Gaby Sanchez except as a pinch hitter vs Sean Marshall and Aroldis Chapman.

Familiar Faces: Ryan Ludwick, Xavier Paul, Bronson Arroyo

Probable Pitchers

Friday: LH Wandy Rodriguez (7-9, 136.2 IP, 94 K, 3.82 ERA, 1.30 WHIP)
vs. RH Mat Latos (9-3, 127.1 IP, 117 K, 4.17 ERA, 1.24 WHIP)

Saturday: RH James McDonald (10-5, 130.2 IP, 115 K, 3.37 ERA, 1.18 WHIP)
vs. RH Mike Leake (4-7, 119.2 IP, 79 K, 4.44 ERA, 1.35 WHIP)

Sunday: RH A.J. Burnett (13-3, 124.0 IP, 102 K, 3.27 ERA, 1.19 WHIP)
vs. RH Homer Bailey (9-6, 131.0 IP, 97 K, 3.85 ERA, 1.33 WHIP)

No lineups yet.

Starling Marte LF
Travis Snider RF
Andrew McCutchen CF
Garrett Jones 1B
Neil Walker 2B
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Rod Barajas C
Clint Barmes SS
Wandy Rodriguez P

Series Preview: The Reds

Please forgive the lateness of this post. I hope you all enjoyed this Memorial Day weekend as much as I did. All numbers are from before Monday’s game. 

Current record: 23-24, 4th place in NL Central, 4.0 games back

Up Next: Cincinnati Reds, 27-20, 1st place in NL Central, 1.5 games ahead

Season Series: 1-2, Cutch was out with the flu and the Bucs only scored four runs in the three games.

Notes: The Reds are in first place, having won eight of their last nine games.

Familiar Faces: Ryan Ludwick, Bronson Arroyo,

Probable Pitchers
Monday: RH Bronson Arroyo (2-2, 58.2 IP, 44 K, 3.22 ERA, 1.26 WHIP)
vs. RH James McDonald (3-2, 57.2 IP, 58 K, 2.51 ERA, 0.99 WHIP)

Tuesday: RH Homer Bailey (3-3, 53.2 IP, 40 K, 4.19 ERA, 1.38 WHIP)
vs. RH Charlie Morton (2-5, 46.1 IP, 25 K, 4.27 ERA, 1.42 WHIP)

Wednesday: RH Johnny Cueto (5-2, 64.0 IP, 41 K, 2.53 ERA, 1.25 WHIP)
vs. RH A.J. Burnett (3-2, 43.0 IP, 39 K, 4.19 ERA, 1.35 WHIP)