THE BULLPEN

   Play ball! Our Pittsburgh Pirates take their show on the road to the west coast where they begin a 3-game series tonight in LA versus the Dodgers. These are your keys for tonight's game. 1)Back in June, the Bucs took 3 of 4 at home from the Dodgers. Since 2014, the Pirates are 13-4 versus LA. Get some more. Hit, Run & Score! 2)RH Ivan Nova, 8-6, 4.83 ERA goes for the Buccos. He'll face LA RH Ross Stripling, 3-3, 3.79 ERA. In Nova's first start in Black-N-Gold, the former Yankee went 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, striking out 5 and allowing no walks. He picked up the win in the 5-3 contest over Cincy. Do it again. Be a Super Nova! 3)The Pirates leap-frogged the New York Mets yesterday to move to within 2 games of the 2nd wild card spot. The Dodgers are 1 game out in the NL west and hold the top wild card spot, up 4 games. After a 4-2 homestand, the Pirates need to start stacking wins and moving on up in the wild card standings. Gimme a W! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!