The Pirates – Tigers game in Detroit was rained out last night, and the two teams will play a true doubleheader this afternoon. The Game 1 first pitch is 12:40pm. WISR will join the pre-game following the Noon News. Game 2 will begin 40 minutes after Game 1 ends.
Rookie Jared Jones will start the opening game, followed by rookie Paul Skenes making his fourth major league start in the second game.
The Pirates will see the return of third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes from the Injured List for the opening game. He had been dealing with back discomfort. The Pirates have placed starting pitcher Martin Perez and catcher Joey Bart on the Injured List. Perez injured a groin in Sunday’s loss to Atlanta, while Bart is dealing with a thumb issue.
After a three-year research project, Major League Baseball has now incorporated Negro League records in its overall statistics. The addition now makes former Homestead Grays legend Josh Gibson the baseball’s career leader with a .372 batting average, five points better than Ty Cobb. Gibson also becomes the career leader in slugging percentage over Babe Ruth. The project incorporated records for more than 2,300 players, including Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Minnie Minoso and Satchel Paige in addition to Gibson.