THE BULLPEN

     Root, root, root for the home team! Your Pittsburgh Pirates are back home as they begin a 2-game series with the Minnesota Twins tonight at PNC Park. These are your keys for tonight's game. 1)RH Ricky Nolasco, 3-1, 6.38 ERA starts for Minny. He faces Pirates lefty Francisco Liriano, 1-3, 2.96 ERA. Nolasco carries a hefty ERA with him. Score early, score often, score BIG! 2)First-year manager Paul Molitor has the Twinkies headed in the right direction at 21-17, 3 games out in the AL Central. They've gone 6-4 in their last 10 but only have a 7-11 record on the road. Make roadkill out of 'em, Frankie! 3)The Pirates continue to look up in the NL Central at 18-20, 7.5 games out of 1st place. They're 9-7 at PNC but just 5-5 in their last 10 games overall. Someone needs to tell the Bucs that winning 1 game every series just won't cut it. You've got to win more with some Hit, Run & Score! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!