After a day off on Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates visit the San Diego Padres tonight. First pitch is 10:10pm. Pre-game on WISR 680am will be 9:45pm. Chad Kuhl will start for the Bucs. The Pirates begin the night 4-1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs. The Cubs defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-3 Thursday, while Milwaukee was losing to Washington 15-2. The Brewers have fallen 1-1/2 games behind the Cubs.
The Pirates have sent left-hander Steven Brault back to Triple-A Indianapolis. He was brought up when outfielder Gregory Polanco went on the disabled list. The Pirates are expected to bring up rookie oufielder Jordan Luplow from Indianapolis. Luplow began the season in Altoona, where he batted .287 and hit 16 home runs in 73 games. Those numbers earned him a promotion to Triple-A, where he has hit .324 with five home runs over his first 21 games. The 23-year old Luplow is a former Fresno State teammate of New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
