Slightly early gamethread: Taillon faces Arrieta

Jameson Taillon faces the resurgent Phillies in a 7:05pm start in Philadelphia. On the other side will be a familiar face in Jake Arrieta.

The Pirates have had some success against Arrieta since a certain infamous game in 2015, going 5-4 against him since then. Last year, they won three of four decisions against Arrieta. His ERA against the Pirates of 4.07 resulted mainly from six longballs, which was more than a quarter of the HRs he allowed on the season. He no longer has the dominant stuff he had in his historically great 2015 season. His fastball is down about three mph even without accounting for the change in calibration a year ago that added a little over half a mph to everybody’s fastball. In two starts, after signing late with the Phillies, Arrieta has given up ten hits and four walks in ten and two-thirds innings, with six strikeouts.

Some Pirates’ small sample sizes against Arrieta:

Josh Bell: 7-for-14, 2 HR
Corey Dickerson: 4-for-6
Max Moroff: 1-for-2, 1 HR
Gregory Polanco: 8-for-34, 3 HR
Sean Rodriguez: 4-for-10, 1 HR

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PIRATES

1 L Adam Frazier 2B

2 L Gregory Polanco RF

3 R Starling Marte CF

4 S Josh Bell 1B

5 L Corey Dickerson LF

6 R Francisco Cervelli C

7 L Colin Moran 3B

8 R Jordy Mercer SS

9 R Jameson Taillon RHP

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PHILLIES

1 S Cesar Hernandez 2B

2 S Carlos Santana 1B

3 L Odubel Herrera CF

4 R Rhys Hoskins 1B

5 L Nick Williams RF

6 R Scott Kingery 3B

7 L J.P. Crawford SS

8 R Jorge Alfaro C

9 R Jake Arrieta RHP