Pittsburgh Pirates Alter Pitching Plans After Wednesday’s Rain Out

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 08: Chad Kuhl #39 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers the ball against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 8, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs defeated the Pirates 3-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 08: Chad Kuhl #39 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers the ball against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 8, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs defeated the Pirates 3-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Due to Wednesday night’s washout at PNC Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates have altered their pitching plans for this weekend

After splitting the first two games of their series, the Pittsburgh Pirates were set to play the rubber match of the series on Wednesday night. Mother Nature, however, had other ideas.

After it rained throughout the night in Pittsburgh, Wednesday night’s game between the Bucs and Brew Crew has been postponed. The clubs have not yet announced when it will be made up.

As a result of Wednesday night’s cancellation, the Pirates have altered their pitching plans for this weekend.

On Thursday night the Bucs will start a four-game series at PNC Park against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Game one of the series will see Chad Kuhl, who was slated to start on Wednesday night, take the mound for the Pirates while the Diamondbacks plan to counter with Zack Godley.

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Originally, Ivan Nova was the team’s scheduled starter for Thursday night. Instead, he will now pitch against Patrick Corbin on Friday night. Saturday afternoon’s 4:05 matchup will now feature a pitching matchup of Joe Musgrove and Zack Greinke.

Saturday could be an interesting game to watch as this will be Musgrove’s first start against the Diamondbacks since getting fined for intentionally hitting Chris Owings with a pitch in Phoneix last week. Will the Diamondbacks look to retaliate against Musgrove? It is unlikely, but you never know.

Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. at PNC Park. While Clay Buchholz remains Arizona’s scheduled starter, Trevor Williams is now scheduled to get the ball for the Pirates. Originally, Williams was scheduled to pitch Saturday with Jameson Taillon set to go on Sunday afternoon.

Rain outs can be a colossal pain for baseball managers when it comes to juggling their pitching staff. Luckily for Clint Hurdle and the Pirates, other than bumping each starter back a day, Wednesday night’s cancellation does not appear to have had a major impact on the team.