Pirates Set Pitching Rotation For San Diego Series

Clint Hurdle has released the Pirates starting rotation for their upcoming series with the San Diego Padres, and it will see Francisco Liriano return to the mound. Liriano had his last start skipped due to right hamstring tightness, but he is healthy again and ready to go. This, of course, is a big shot in the arm for the Pirate rotation.

Liriano will be followed by left-hander Jeff Locke on Wednesday and then right-hander Gerrit Cole on Thursday.

With Liriano returning the starting rotation, Ryan Vogelsong will return to the bullpen. I would expect either Kyle Lobstein, AJ Schugel, or Rob Scahill to be optioned to AAA Indianapolis when the team arrive in San Diego on Tuesday. Most likely, it will be Schugel. Other than Tony Watson Klye Lobstein is the only left-handed pitcher in the bullpen which should keep him around for now, and Rob Scahill has a better and more extensive Major League track record than AJ Schugel does.

Whichever pitcher gets optioned to AAA, I would expect 1B/3B Jason Rogers to be recalled to replace them on the roster. Remember, the Pirates currently only have four players on the bench after Michael Morse was designated for assignment last week. On top of being able to play the corner infield positions, Rogers can also play the corner outfield positions.

The Pirate rotation has been up and down so far this season, but getting a healthy Liriano back in the fold will help quite a bit. Gerrit Cole and Francisco Liriano is still as good a one-two punch as there is in the National League, and with the way Jon Niese is pitching the Pirates all of a sudden have a very strong top three in their starting rotation. Even though that is not a surprise to me, as I expected Jon Niese to have a solid season.