Astros Vs. Pirates, 4 July 2012

Happy Fourth, everyone. We've got a day game today, as Dallas Keuchel faces off against Kevin Correia at 1:35.

I'd never heard of Keuchel, and it turns out there are good reasons for that. He has three career starts to his name, and while he has a 1.35 ERA in them, he's walked nine batters while striking out just eight. He also didn't really whiff anyone in the minors, striking out just 46 batters in 80.1 innings at Class AAA Oklahoma City this year. He's a groundball pitcher, which helps him, but his velocity is below average, even for a lefty. Also, his first name is very poorly suited to his current market. This is a pretty decent matchup for the Pirates, even with Correia on the hill.

Pirates:

Drew Sutton LF
Neil Walker 2B
Andrew McCutchen CF
Garrett Jones RF
Casey McGehee 1B
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Michael McKenry C
Clint Barmes SS
Kevin Correia P

Hey, what do you know -- McKenry bats seventh. Alvarez is in the lineup; Alex Presley is out.

UPDATE: Actually, McGehee will bat fourth and Jones fifth.