NewsVasquez, Morton set for rotation starts
Pittsburgh (33-39) vs. Kansas City (31-40), 7:05 p.m. ET
By Wayne Staats / MLB.com
06/26/09 12:55 AM ET
PITTSBURGH -- Virgil Vasquez has waited almost 21 months since his last Major League appearance, but he won't have to wait any longer as he is now in line to start Friday. |
The 6-foot-3 righty replaces Charlie Morton for the series opener against the Royals. Morton will be starting Sunday instead, also against Kansas City, as the club gives him two more days for his strained left hamstring to heal. Vasquez was brought up to replace Ian Snell, who was sent down to Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, in the rotation.
"He's been throwing the ball very well in Indianapolis, so we're anxious to get him up here and give Charlie another day," manager John Russell said. "We have him scheduled to pitch Sunday, we still have to make sure he's OK tomorrow and everything goes according to plan, but it looks like he's going to be OK." Vasquez is 5-2 with a 4.18 ERA in 14 starts for Triple-A Indianapolis this year. He was a candidate to be the No. 5 starter heading into this season, but was beaten out by Jeff Karstens at the end of Spring Training. Despite Karstens nabbing the final slot, Vasquez at the time said he would be "one of the guys that they look for in the future." He gets his chance Friday. Vasquez's last Major League appearance came Sept. 28, 2007, when he came out of the bullpen. His last start was Aug. 31, 2007. He is 0-1 with a 8.64 ERA in his big league career, which spans five games. All of his appearances came with the Tigers. Vasquez was taken out of his start for Indianapolis on Tuesday after just one inning in case the big league club needed him. As for Morton, who suffered the strain on June 10, he said he's fine, strength-wise, and that the hamstring felt a lot better than it did a couple weeks ago. The Pirates would rather play it safe and give Morton two more days before he goes out again. "I've been doing nothing different than what we've been doing," Morton said. "Just some stability stuff and just trying to get back to normal." Pitching matchupPIT: RHP Virgil Vasquez (0-1, 8.64 ERA in 2007)
Vasquez has been recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and will be making his debut for the Pirates on Friday. Officially, Vasquez takes the rotation spot left vacant when Snell was optioned to the Minors. After losing out on the battle for the rotation's fifth spot in Spring Training, Vasquez went to Indianapolis, where he went 5-2 with a 4.18 ERA in 14 appearances. Vasquez hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2007, when he made five appearances (three starts) for the Tigers. KC: RHP Gil Meche (4-6, 4.11 ERA)
Meche is coming off a drubbing from the Cardinals, who rang up nine earned runs against him in 3 1/3 innings. Of course five of those runs were knocked in by the destructive force known as Albert Pujols. This episode inflated Meche's ERA from 3.31 to 4.11. In his previous start, Meche gutted his way through 132 pitches to shut out the D-backs, but he insisted that any idea that it adversely affected him against St. Louis was "stupid." He said he felt great. In his previous six starts, had given up just seven earned runs for an ERA of 1.69. Bucs bits
Catcher Ryan Doumit (right wrist) is taking batting practice in the cages, but there is still no timetable for his return. ... Catcher Tony Sanchez, the fourth overall pick in this year's First-Year Players Draft, is headed to Class A West Virginia. He'll arrive on Saturday. ... Pittsburgh is 8-12 all-time against Kansas City. Tickets
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• Saturday: Pirates (Paul Maholm, 4-4, 4.48) vs. Royals (TBD), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Pirates (Charlie Morton, 0-0, 3.00) vs. Royals (Zack Greinke, 9-3, 1.90), 1:35 p.m. ET
• Monday: Pirates (Zach Duke, 8-5, 3.09) vs. Cubs (Rich Harden, 4-4, 4.95), 7:05 p.m. ET
Wayne Staats is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
