Game Thread: Pirates attempt series win

After suffering a 10-1 beatdown at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals last night, the Pittsburgh Pirates will look for the series win this afternoon.

For the Pirates, starting pitcher James Marvel will make his major league debut. He is starting in place of the injured Mitch Keller. In 28 starts across AA and AAA this season, Marvel has gone 16-5 with a 2.94 ERA. In AAA specifically, the 6’4 righty went 7-0 with a 2.67 ERA. The Indianapolis Indians as a team went 10-1 in the games he started.

Marvel has had a strong season in the minors but he is not considered a top prospect by any stretch of the imagination. He was not among the Pirates top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline and will turn 26 next week.

But hey, you never know.

For the Cardinals, right-hander Jack Flaherty (9-7, 3.14) gets the nod. Since the beginning of August, Flaherty has been scorching hot. In 46 innings pitched, he given up three earned runs (0.59 ERA) and 20 hits total. He has struck out 55 and walked 10. Opponents are hitting .128/.194/.199 against him over that span.

First pitch is at 1:35 eastern. Good luck.

Lineups

Cardinals

RF Tommy Edman

2B Kolten Wong

1B Paul Goldschmidt

LF Marcell Ozuna

SS Paul DeJong

C Yadier Molina

3B Matt Carpenter

CF Harrison Bader

P Jack Flaherty

Pirates

SS Kevin Newman

LF Bryan Reynolds

CF Starling Marte

3B Colin Moran

1B Jose Osuna

RF Melky Cabrera

2B Adam Frazier

C Jacob Stallings

P James Marvel