Pirates at Padres
Francisco Liriano is recovered from a hamstring injury and returns to
the mound on Tuesday when the Pittsburgh Pirates open a three-game
series against the host San Diego Padres. Liriano had his last turn
skipped due to tightness and will attempt to pitch the Pirates to their
third straight victory.
Liriano last pitched on April 8 and his return will place the rotation back in order as well as help a stretched-out bullpen. "Having Francisco back in play is definitely an opportunity for us to leverage a strength," manager Clint Hurdle told reporters. "I'd like to believe the continuity of the starts will give us more continuity in the back end of the bullpen and through the other guys out there, so we can settle guys down and find some routine and roles that we want to build upon." The Pirates are opening a 10-game road trip and the Padres haven't fared well at home with just a 1-5 mark. San Diego first baseman Wil Myers emerged from a slump to go 7-for-14 in a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks to raise his season mark to .288.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates LH Francisco Liriano (1-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. Padres RH Colin Rea (0-1, 5.56)
Liriano received a no-decision in his last start when he gave up three runs and five hits in five innings against the Cincinnati Reds. In six career starts against the Padres, he has struck out 49 in 38 innings but has only a 1-2 record to go with a stellar 2.13 ERA. Liriano has thrived against left fielder Matt Kemp (1-for-14) and catcher Derek Norris (1-for-13) but has struggled with shortstop Alexei Ramirez (13-for-31) and center fielder Melvin Upton Jr. (8-for-24).
Rea pitched well against Philadelphia in his last outing but suffered the loss in Wednesday's contest. He gave up two runs (one earned) and five hits in seven innings during a 2-1 defeat. Rea is making his ninth big-league start and he went 2-2 with a 4.26 ERA in six starts last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pittsburgh went 27-6 against NL West clubs last season, including a 14-3 road mark.
2. Kemp has hit four of San Diego's nine homers - he didn't hit his fourth homer last season until June 18.
3. Pirates LF Starling Marte (hand) is expected back in the lineup after being limited to defensive replacement duty on Sunday one day after being plunked by a pitch from Milwaukee's Taylor Jungmann.