Thursday night's matchup between the Houston Astros and the Pirates (7:05) features Bud Norris, who has dominated the Pirates in the past at times, taking on Jeff Karstens, as the Bucs go for a sweep. The Astros have a new lineup after dealing Carlos Lee to the Marlins on Wednesday, with newcomer Matt Dominguez taking over third base and batting eighth. Dominguez was the Marlins' first-round pick in 2007, but he has struggled to hit throughout the minors and only posted a .647 OPS for the Marlins' AAA team this year. So moving him straight to the majors seems like an odd decision, regardless of how thin the Astros' organization might be, or the quality of Dominguez's defense.
Before the game, the Pirates placed Alex Presley on the 7-day DL with concussion-like symptoms and promoted infielder Jordy Mercer, who will be available off the bench.
Jose Altuve 2B
Jed Lowrie SS
Scott Moore RF
J.D. Martinez LF
Chris Johnson 1B
Brian Bogusevic CF
Chris Snyder C
Matt Dominguez 3B
Bud Norris P
Drew Sutton LF
Neil Walker 2B
Andrew McCutchen CF
Garrett Jones RF
Casey McGehee 1B
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Rod Barajas C
Clint Barmes SS
Jeff Karstens P
For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout. For more on the Astros, there's Crawfish Boxes.