Here’s the Pirates’ lineup for Friday night’s contest against Bud Norris and the Houston Astros.
Jose Tabata RF
Nate McLouth LF
Andrew McCutchen CF
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Neil Walker 2B
Garrett Jones 1B
Rod Barajas C
Clint Barmes SS
James McDonald P
Alex Presley sits again. Presley has played less and less recently, as the Bucs wait for him to start hitting. He hasn’t been the worst offender — Barmes and Barajas have been far worse, and they both still have starting jobs. And McLouth has hit even worse than Presley. Still, it’s hard to say that Presley has been missed much.
McCutchen, meanwhile, is on a tear — he’s 7-for-12 in his last four games, with two home runs in that span. He’s currently batting .330/.397/.466 on the season. Pirates starter James McDonald has 27 strikeouts in his last three outings.
For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout. For more on the Astros, there’s Crawfish Boxes.