I was looking forward to seeing Indianapolis pitcher Brad Lincoln work tonight against the Bisons, but the Pittsburgh Pirates' No. 1 pick in 2006 and the fourth overall that season is a scratch due to a sore neck.
Lincoln, who got a $2.75 million bonus but didn't make his big-league debut until last season, is just 5-5 with a 4.34 ERA but pitched seven shutout innings against Buffalo in Indy on May 18. Lincoln was taken one pick behind Evan Longoria and ahead of fellow first-round names such as Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, Max Scherzer, Kyle Drabek, Daniel Bard, Joba Chamberlain and Chris Perez.
Lefty Garrett Olson will make a spot start tonight for Lincoln. Bad new for the Bisons: They're just 5-13 this year against left-handed starters. D.J. Carrasco (2-3) goes for Buffalo.
The Bisons are just 1-4 against Indy this year and have been outscored, 33-13, in the five games. Oddly enough, the Herd is 54-54 against Indy since the teams left the American Association and joined the International League together in 1998.
Here's tonight's Buffalo lineup:
Luis Figueroa, ss
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, cf
Lucas Duda, 1b
Jason Botts, lf
Fernando Martinez, rf
Michael Fisher, 3b
Luis Hernandez, 2b
Mike Nickeas, c
D.J. Carrasco, p
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
tagged
Bisons/Mets
