Baseball

Jason Grilli threw 35 pitches on Tuesday night and was unavailable on Wednesday, so Melancon filled in and was able to convert. That setup man and closer combo has been excellent all season for the Pirates.

Rodriguez dug the Bucs into an early three-run hole, but he settled in after the second inning and the offense eventually responded. The left-hander permitted six hits, no walks and struck out five on the night. The owner of four straight quality starts, Rodriguez holds a 3.40 ERA and 1.05 WHIP for the season. He gets the Brewers this weekend.

After getting Gaby Sanchez to fly out to shallow left with one out, Shawn Camp served up a fat pitch to Snider, who deposited it just over the right-center field wall. Snider has just two longballs this season, but they've both come over the last week.

McCutchen was scratched from Sunday's lineup due to right knee soreness, but it was never a major concern. He should be fine moving forward.

He's just getting the day off. Jose Tabata will make the start in left field while Garret Jones plays right. Gaby Sanchez is at first base.

He'll head back down to the minors now that Jose Contreras is back from the bereavement list. Hughes has a 4.61 ERA and 13/9 K/BB ratio over 13 2/3 innings this season and should get another shot in the Pirates' bullpen before long.

Contreras has been away from the team since Friday. The veteran right-hander returns to a 4.50 ERA and 4/1 K/BB ratio over four innings this season.