Why is Clay Holmes pitching tonight for the Pirates at San Francisco?
None of the Pirates’ starting pitchers are hurt. The Pirates have won three in a row. They are within four games of the National League’s second wild card.
Why the heck is manager Clint Hurdle putting a minor-leaguer on the bump?
Holmes is reportedly pitching because the Pirates played three games at Colorado prior to visiting San Francisco. Hurdle was concerned about his pitchers having to deal with Denver’s high altitude.
But Trevor Williams, who was originally scheduled to start tonight, didn’t pitch at Colorado. If merely being exposed to Denver’s thin air was a concern, Hurdle should have had Williams skip Denver and wait for the team in San Francisco.
The Pirates might be good enough to get a wild card.
Hurdle might not be. This hasn’t been a good season for him.
Adam Frazier got three hits last night. He is 19-for-41 since being recalled from AAA in late July, with six multiple-hit games out of 14 played.
Imagine if Frazier got the at-bats given to team mascot Sean Rodriguez, currently on the DL with a bad case of suck.
It’s a fine line when you’re a borderline wild-card contender. Every decision has to be the correct one.