Game Thread: Can anyone be studly enough to defeat the Dodgers?

Loser of seven straight games, the Pittsburgh Pirates send Trevor Williams (1-1, 2.59) to the mound, facing the Dodgers’ 39 year old Rich Hill, who’ll be making his first appearance of the year after time on the disabled list for a sprained left knee.

Hill, the soft tossing lefty with the big curve, is in his fourth year with the Dodgers, compiling a 3.30 ERA over 55 starts, including 2.8 walks and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings. On Aug. 23, 2017, Hill held the Pirates hitless for nine innings in Pittsburgh, but lost the game on Josh Harrison’s homerun in the tenth.

Williams has continued his streak of excellent pitching for the Pirates which he began in July of last year, so far in 2019 allowing three runs in a game only once in five starts. Over his last 18 games, Williams has a 1.67 ERA in 108 innings pitched.

Facing the left-handed Hill, Pablo Reyes gets a start in center field, spelling Bryan Reynolds, while Elias Diaz gets a Sunday start behind the plate.

Russell Martin starts at catcher against his old team, playing for his even older team. He’ll be one of only three right-handed bats to face Williams as the Dodgers stack the top of their order with left-handers to gain a platoon advantage.

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PIRATES

1 L Adam Frazier 2B

2 S Melky Cabrera LF

3 L Gregory Polanco RF

4 S Josh Bell 1B

5 R Jung-ho Kang 3B

6 R Elias Diaz C

7 S Cole Tucker SS

8 R Pablo Reyes CF

9 R Trevor Williams RHP

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DODGERS

1 L Joc Pederson LF

2 L Corey Seager SS

3 L Max Muncy 3B

4 L Cody Bellinger 1B

5 R A.J. Pollock CF

6 L Alex Verdugo RF

7 R Kike Hernandez 2B

8 R Russell Martin C

9 L Rich Hill LHP