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Live Discussion: Tigers vs. Pirates, postponed

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PITTSBURGH — Colin Moran and Jordy Mercer will be off on Tuesday, as the Pirates will continue their theme from the previous years of attempting to give players two consecutive days off throughout the season by resting them on the day before or after a scheduled off day.

Josh Bell, Francisco Cervelli and Adam Frazier were all off on Sunday, giving five of the Pirates’ regulars back-to-back rest days.

Mercer and Cervelli are certainly at points in their careers where the extra day off will do them well and Bell’s been in the midst of a 3-for-24 slide at the plate. Frazier has been in something of a platoon at second base in Josh Harrison’s stead.

But Moran has been a regular starter at third except when a lefty is on the mound, when David Freese has taken most of the at-bats. But Detroit starter Jordan Zimmerman is right-handed with a typical platoon split.

Moran played just 89 games in 2017, as he dealt with a serious facial fracture and concussion, so it’s possible the Pirates are looking to ease him back into an every day role, but manager Clint Hurdle seemed to brush that suggestion aside.

“We were aware of the games that he played,” Hurdle said. “We’re also aware of the roster we have and how we want to utilize it. … We look to strengthen our feel and our touch on the recovery patterns for our guys. That’s it.”

The Pirates were already pretty aggressive with the way they’ve rested starters in the past, but a four-man bench may make that challenging at some point this season.

ON THE MEND

Joe Musgrove threw a 30-pitch bullpen session in Philadelphia on Sunday, including all his pitches, and he’ll throw a sim game tomorrow.

PIRATES LINEUP

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