First number, last word

By Tom Singer

April 10, 2014

18-13: The Pirates' record in 2013 in games against left-handed starters; the Bucs faced their first southpaw of 2014 on Thursday afternoon, Chicago's Travis Wood.

"That's 20 percent of your rotation in place, and it's the No. 1 pole. That's the spot everybody's looking to fill. Down the road, we feel we're gonna have that spot filled." - Hurdle, looking forward to building his rotation around Gerrit Cole for years to come.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog Change for a Nickel. He can also be found on Twitter @Tom_Singer.