PITTSBURGH -- On its face, the starting pitching matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates in the second of their three-game series Saturday at PNC Park looks like a mismatch.
On one hand, there is Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez, who was the talk of baseball a year ago at this time. But times have since become hard.
For the Pirates, Ivan Nova takes the mound, only a few weeks removed from being named National League Pitcher of the Month for April, beating out some tough competition.
Advantage, Pirates, right?