(Sports Network) - Brad Lincoln makes his home debut when the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox open a three-game interleague set this evening at PNC Park.
Lincoln, Pittsburgh's top pitching prospect, made his big league debut Wednesday in Washington but did not get a decision, as the Nationals reached him for five runs and seven hits in six innings of a 7-5 loss.
"Hopefully [the fans] expect a lot. They should expect me to go out there and perform to the max and give them a show," Lincoln said of his home debut. "For me, I'm going to treat it just like any other game and go out there, do what I do and hope to come out with a win. It will be exciting. It will probably be just like my first start."
Pittsburgh's fan base could use a lift, as the Pirates return home following a three-game sweep by Detroit and are riding an eight-game losing streak. The club's struggling offense could get a boost this week with the callup of the organization's premier prospect in third baseman Pedro Alvarez, whom general manager Neal Huntington hinted could make his debut soon.
The Pirates appeared headed to victory on Sunday, but Miguel Cabrera's three- run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning propelled the Tigers to a 4-3 win at Comerica Park.
Garrett Jones hit a solo homer and knocked in a pair of runs in the loss, while Delwyn Young drove in a run with a sacrifice fly for Pittsburgh.
"It's tough, especially the way we've been losing, so we wanted to get this win," Jones said. "That's a tough lineup. They had their best hitter (Cabrera) up, one of the best hitters in the league up. It's tough."
The White Sox, meanwhile, had a four-game win streak stopped and were nearly no-hit in Sunday's tilt with the Cubs before falling 1-0 in the three-game finale of the Windy City Series at Wrigley Field.
Juan Pierre accounted for the White Sox' lone hit, breaking up Ted Lilly's no- no with a leadoff single in the ninth.
White Sox starter Gavin Floyd (2-7) also was flirting with a no-hitter, keeping pace with Lilly until there were two outs in the seventh.
"Those guys threw an unbelievable ball game, [they pitched] very, very well," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "It really was outstanding. I think this was the best Gavin threw the ball all year long."
Chicago will hand the ball to veteran Freddy Garcia tonight as he tries for his fourth straight win and seventh victory in his last eight outings. Garcia beat the Tigers on Wednesday, holding them to three runs and seven hits in seven innings to run his mark to 6-3 on the year to go along with a 4.82 ERA.
Garcia is a perfect 2-0 against the Pirates with a 3.75 ERA in two starts.
Chicago took two of three from the Pirates last season and has won five of the last six meetings between the teams.