Following James McDonald's implosion Friday night in which he allowed seven earned runs on seven hits and a walk in 4.1 innings and lost a 7-1 lead against the Padres in a 9-8 loss, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Karen Price that pitcher Kevin Correia will start this coming Tuesday against the Dodgers at PNC Park.
Correia was bumped from the Bucs' rotation to the bullpen at the end of July when the team traded for Wandy Rodriguez, but he made a spot start this past Wednesday, picking up the win in Pittsburgh's 7-6 victory against Arizona. He'll now get another turn, putting the Pirates on course for what appears to be a six-man rotation.
This could help give McDonald a few extra days to straighten out his stuff as he's been struggling mightily lately, but it also cuts into the number of starts the other guys in the rotation (Rodriguez, Erik Bedard, Jeff Karstens and A.J. Burnett) can make. It will be interesting to see if the Pirates continue to use Correia as a stop gap while McDonald struggles, or if they'll consider replacing McDonald with Correia if the former continues to pitch poorly.
For the latest on the Bucs, be sure to stay tuned to SB Nation Pittsburgh and check out Bucs Dugout, SB Nation's Pittsburgh Pirates blog.