Pirates' David Freese: Starting at first

Freese is in the lineup, playing first base and batting fifth against the Mets on Thursday, Joshua Needelman of MLB.com reports.

Analysis:

Freese is penciled into the starting lineup for the first time in two games, replacing John Jaso who's on a maintenance day. While Freese loses playing time to Jaso and Jung Ho Kang, he's quietly hitting the ball very well of late, slashing .367/.436/.653 over his last 17 games.