1:05 EST
The Pirates got a fantastic start from Charlie Morton yesterday and are now only 11 days away from Opening Day. Today's game will be on mlb.tv. Paul Maholm will be on the hill for the Pirates, and he will be followed by the newest Pirate, Garrett Olson. Olson was a guy the Pirates pretty much had to get since the other big league left handed bullpen options, Scott Olsen, and Joe Beimel, are dealing with injuries. Olson has never been a very good pitcher, but he strikes out batters at a decent rate and has an advantage being a southpaw. It'll be interesting to get our first look at him today.
Pirates Pitchers: Paul Maholm, Garrett Olson, Jose Veras, Sean Gallagher
The Pirates cut Garrett Atkins today, who was the front runner for a bench spot coming into spring training. He struggled mightily here in March and will be looking for a job elsewhere. That leaves Steve Pearce and Andy Marte as the front runners for a bench spot. Pearce is going to have to be able to play third base well if the Pirates take him to the big leagues come April, and I don't know if he's quite there yet. My bet is now on Marte, who has been hitting the ball extremely well this spring, and is a better defensive option than Pearce. Despite that, you can see Pearce is starting in left field today, so the Pirates certainly have not made their decision yet.
Pirates Lineup: Andrew McCutchen (CF), Neil Walker (2B), Steven Pearce (LF), Lyle Overbay (1B), Matt Diaz (RF), Pedro Alvarez (3B), Josh Rodriguez (SS), Jason Jaramillo (C), Paul Maholm (LHP)