Game XCI Thread: The Pirates of Pittsburgh versus the Royals of Kansas City

The charging Pittsburgh Pirates come to Kauffman Stadium. Since May 22, the Pirates have been on a 35-16 tear, and that's including losing their first three after the break to Milwaukee. On May 20, they sat nine games back in the standings in the NL Central, four games under .500. Despite the Cardinals having held sole possession of the best record in baseball since May 25, the Pirates have closed the gap to as few as 2.5 games at the break and still sit just 4.5 games back after a three-game sweep at the hands of the Brewers.

Apparently having received temporary extension on his tether allowing him to leave a 300-mile tether from his home state of Maryland to throw tonight, A.J. Burnett will toss balls for the Pirates. Yordano Ventura, fighting for his life in the rotation, throws for the Royals tonight.

These are tonight's lineups:

Tonight’s #Royals lineup vs Pirates at 7:10 CT on @FSKansasCity, @MLBTV & @610SportsKC. http://t.co/KoFhQ9046j pic.twitter.com/vy53nWl4Gl

— Royals (@Royals) July 20, 2015