Game Thread: Can the Bucs keep the bats hot in game two?

After last night’s 11-0 drubbing of the Miami Marlins, the Pirates will look to keep the offense rolling as they face righty Pablo Lopez in game two.

Lopez has been lights-out since mid-May and is at his best when pitching in Miami (1.73 home ERA). In his last several starts, he’s given up only six earned runs in 28.2 innings with a 19-3 strikeout to walk rate. This will be the first time Lopez has faced Pittsburgh during his short career.

Pitching for the Bucs in his big league debut is 24-year-old Dario Agrazal. In eight starts for the Indianapolis Indians (AAA), Agrazal has a nearly 4-1 K/BB rate with an 0.97 WHIP and a 3.10 ERA. Below is the scouting report for Agrazal’s repertoire via Baseball Savant.

At his best, Agrazal fills up the strike zone and gets a ton of ground-ball outs. His power sinker will touch 95-96 at times and sit in the low 90s, which has led to a career 1.48 GO/AO ratio entering the 2018 season, a rate that rose to 1.80 in 2017. Agrazal doesn’t miss a ton of bats, but he never hurts himself with walks as evidenced by his 1.3 BB/9 ratio in the Minors. He has a decent feel for a changeup and can spin a breaking ball, though they typically grade out as fringe-average secondary offerings.

First pitch is 6:10 p.m. in Marlins Park.

Lineups

Pirates

SS Kevin Newman

RF Bryan Reynolds

CF Starling Marte

1B Josh Bell

3B Colin Moran

LF Corey Dickerson

C Elias Diaz

2B Adam Frazier

P Dario Agrazal

Marlins

LF Curtis Granderson

1B Garrett Cooper

3B Brian Anderson

2B Starlin Castro

RF Harold Ramirez

CF J.T. Riddle

C Jorge Alfaro

SS Miguel Rojas

P Pablo Lopez