THE BULLPEN

Play ball! Your Pittsburgh Pirates take their show on the road to Detroit to take on the Motor City Kitties this afternoon. These are your keys to the game. 1)The Pirates are winners of 13 of their last 15 games. They've also won 5 series in a row. Showdown in Motown! 2)The Pirates are a season-high 12 games above .500. Get lucky 13! 3)It's a tale of 2 pitchers. Detroit starter Justin Verlander, 5-4 with a 3.66 ERA, has given up 17 runs in his last 3 starts, 12 2/3 innings. Hit him early, hit him often, hit him HARD. Pirates starter Francisco Liriano is 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA and has given up 2 runs in 18 innings with 25 strikeouts. Give Frankie lots of support with the ol' Hit, Run, & Score! Let's Go Bucs!!!!! A big black-n-gold shout out to all our veterans, too. Thank you!