Chicago @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( May 24, 2009 ) Pittsburgh 4, Chi. White Sox 3
Brad Lincoln will make his PNC Park debut on Tuesday night - and if he wants it to be a victorious one, he'll need to be much better than he was the last time out.
Lincoln makes his second career major-league start as he leads the slumping Pittsburgh Pirates into the opener of a three-game home series against the Chicago White Sox. The teams met last season in Chicago, where the White Sox took the first two games of the interleague series by shutout before dropping the finale 4-3.
Considered the Pirates' top pitching prospect, Lincoln had a forgettable major-league debut six days ago. The 25-year-old right-hander was tagged for five runs on seven hits in six innings as Pittsburgh dropped a 7-5 decision to the Washington Nationals. He walked two, struck out three and allowed a towering first-inning home run to Nationals slugger Adam Dunn.
The Pirates could use a strong follow-up outing from Lincoln. They've lost a season-high eight consecutive games, and are coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. They've scored three runs or less in each of their past four games, and their .237 team batting average is second-worst in the majors - slightly ahead of only the Houston Astros (.236).
Help may be on the way for the Pirates' anemic offense, with general manager Neal Huntington declaring Sunday that prized hitting prospect Pedro Alvarez may be called up as early as this week. The second overall pick in the 2008 draft, Alvarez has 13 home runs and 51 RBIs for the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis.
For now, Pittsburgh will have to make do with what it has as it prepares to face veteran White Sox hurler Freddy Garcia (6-3). The 33-year-old right-hander was shaky to open the season but has been sensational of late, with victories in six of his last seven starts.
Garcia is coming off back-to-back strong starts against Detroit and Texas, both of which resulted in victories. In a strange coincidence, Garcia had the exact same line in both: he allowed three runs on seven hits over seven innings, walking one and striking out four.
Prior to that, he limited Tampa Bay to a pair of runs over seven innings while striking out a season-high seven.
Garcia has made two career starts against the Pirates, posting a 2-0 record with a 3.75 ERA over 12 innings. He last faced them in 2006 during his previous incarnation with the White Sox, tossing six solid innings in a 4-3 victory.
The White Sox saw their four-game winning streak snapped Sunday night as they were held to a lone ninth-inning single by Juan Pierre in a 1-0 loss to the cross-town rival Cubs. Despite the recent hot streak, the White Sox remain mired in third place in the AL Central, 7 1/2 games back of the Minnesota Twins.