Pittsburgh Pirates Prepare For Their Final Test Before Opening Day

The Pittsburgh Pirates will play the Toronto Blue Jays in Montreal this afternoon

Last night, the Pittsburgh Pirates played the Toronto Blue Jays at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. It was a great atmosphere north of the border and a good tune-up for Opening Day on Monday.

At 1:07 PM this afternoon, the Pirates and Blue Jays will play at Olympic Stadium once again. This is the Pirates’ final tune-up before Opening Day on Monday. It is also the final chance for players competing for a spot on the roster to impress Clint Hurdle and the Pirate brass.

This comes one day after the Pirates and Blue Jays tied at 1 in Montreal. You can read more about that game here.

Chad Kuhl will start for the Pirates. The team has already announced that Kuhl will pitch the final game of their three-game series in Boston on Thursday afternoon. He will be followed by Tyler Glasnow.

Tyler Glasnow beat out Trevor Williams for the final spot in the Pirates’ starting rotation.

Yesterday the Pirates optioned right-handed relief pitcher A.J. Schugel to Triple-A. Later in the day, they waived Tyler Webb. This guaranteed Wade LeBlanc a job in the Pirate bullpen.Additionally, Trevor Williams has also made the Pirate bullpen.

Ex-Pirate Francisco Liriano will start for the Blue Jays this afternoon. This will be his first start against his former team since the Pirates traded him to Toronto on August 1st, 2016.

Alen Hanson, Jose Osuna, and Phil Gosselin remain in competition for the final two spots on the Pirate bench. Ultimately, I expect Hanson and Gosselin to get these two spots while Osuna begins the year at Triple-A.

Next: A Different Look At The Pirate Rotation

After this afternoon, the next time the Pittsburgh Pirates play it will be a game that counts. It will be the regular season opener on Monday at Fenway Park. After today, finally, baseball season will be here.