Francisco Liriano's time away from the diamond will extend beyond the All-Star break after the Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher was scratched from his start Saturday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.
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Vance Worley to Start in Place of Liriano on Saturday
Saturday, July 18
The Pirates announced shortly before Saturday's game Liriano would be unavailable to pitch because of neck tightness, and Vance Worley would instead take the mound. Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review provided an interesting stat regarding the health of the Pirates starters this year:
Most of Worley's action in 2015 has come in relief. He has appeared in 18 games—seven of which were starts—this year. His last start came in a May 14 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. He allowed three runs on eight hits and a walk in four innings pitched.
Worley is obviously a bit of a step down from Liriano, but the Pirates are lucky in that they can call upon an experienced veteran to make the spot start in place of their talented lefty.
As long as Liriano isn't forced to miss any more starts because of any lingering effects from his neck tightness, Pittsburgh shouldn't be in too much trouble.
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