Pitch By Pitch

16 consecutive losses to one team? We need to get this monkey off of our back and beat the Brewers. Another glimpse of .500 wouldn’t be bad either.

Jeff Suppan (1-2, 5.88) @ Ian Snell (1-3, 3.72), 7:05 P.M. @ PNC Park

Post-Game Update:

It’s official. We’ve lost to the Brewers 17 consecutive times. They own us. At least we don’t have to see them again until July 20.

Freddy Sanchez got the Pirates started early with a home run in the 1st inning, but it wasn’t enough. Ian Snell didn’t pitch great (probably because he threw 131 pitches in his last outing), but he still managed to leave in the 6th inning with a 3-2 lead (he did walk the first 2 batters in the 6th). Jesse Chavez came into the game in relief, and things got bad. Chavez allowed 3 runs to score, before Sean Burnett came in and closed out the inning. Pirate pitchers gave up 10 walks in the game.

Delwyn Young hit a 2 RBI double in the 8th, but even that wasn’t enough, and the Brewers beat the Bucs 8-5.

You have to wonder if the Pirates will see .500 again this season.

Live Updates:

Inning 1

Away
Rickie Weeks flies out to left fielder Nyjer Morgan.
Craig Counsell grounds out, second baseman Freddy Sanchez to first baseman Adam LaRoche.
Ryan Braun flies out to right fielder Brandon Moss.

Home
Nyjer Morgan flies out to right fielder Corey Hart.
Freddy Sanchez homers (3) on a fly ball to left field.
Nate McLouth grounds out softly, second baseman Rickie Weeks to first baseman Prince Fielder.
Adam LaRoche grounds out, second baseman Rickie Weeks to first baseman Prince Fielder.

Inning 2

Away
Prince Fielder walks.
Mike Cameron grounds into double play, shortstop Ramon Vazquez to second baseman Freddy Sanchez to first baseman Adam LaRoche. Prince Fielder out at 2nd.
Corey Hart doubles (8) on a line drive to left fielder Nyjer Morgan.
J. Hardy singles on a ground ball to left fielder Nyjer Morgan. Corey Hart scores.
Jason Kendall grounds into a force out, shortstop Ramon Vazquez to second baseman Freddy Sanchez. J. Hardy out at 2nd.

Home
Brandon Moss walks.
Andy LaRoche grounds into a force out, shortstop J. Hardy to second baseman Rickie Weeks. Brandon Moss out at 2nd. Andy LaRoche to 1st.
Ramon Vazquez called out on strikes.
Jason Jaramillo grounds out, shortstop J. Hardy to first baseman Prince Fielder.

Inning 3

Away
Jeff Suppan grounds out, third baseman Andy LaRoche to first baseman Adam LaRoche.
Rickie Weeks flies out to right fielder Brandon Moss.
Craig Counsell grounds out, second baseman Freddy Sanchez to first baseman Adam LaRoche.

Home
Ian Snell grounds out, second baseman Rickie Weeks to first baseman Prince Fielder.
Nyjer Morgan singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Jeff Suppan.
Freddy Sanchez walks. Nyjer Morgan to 2nd.
Nate McLouth flies out to center fielder Mike Cameron.
Adam LaRoche strikes out swinging.

Inning 4

Away
Ryan Braun walks.
Prince Fielder flies out to left fielder Nyjer Morgan.
Mike Cameron grounds into a force out, third baseman Andy LaRoche to second baseman Freddy Sanchez. Ryan Braun out at 2nd. Mike Cameron to 1st.
Corey Hart doubles (9) on a fly ball to right fielder Brandon Moss. Mike Cameron scores. Corey Hart to 3rd on the throw.
J. Hardy doubles (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Nate McLouth. Corey Hart scores.
Jason Kendall reaches on a fielder’s choice out, shortstop Ramon Vazquez to second baseman Freddy Sanchez. J. Hardy out at 2nd.

Home
Brandon Moss singles on a soft ground ball to pitcher Jeff Suppan.
Andy LaRoche walks. Brandon Moss to 2nd.
Ramon Vazquez flies out to right fielder Corey Hart in foul territory. Brandon Moss to 3rd. Andy LaRoche to 2nd.
Jason Jaramillo singles on a line drive to center fielder Mike Cameron. Brandon Moss scores. Andy LaRoche to 3rd.
Ian Snell out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Jeff Suppan to second baseman Rickie Weeks. Jason Jaramillo to 2nd.
Nyjer Morgan grounds out, second baseman Rickie Weeks to first baseman Prince Fielder.

Inning 5

Away
Jeff Suppan called out on strikes.
Rickie Weeks grounds out, first baseman Adam LaRoche to pitcher Ian Snell.
Craig Counsell walks.
Ryan Braun strikes out swinging.

Home
Freddy Sanchez flies out to left fielder Ryan Braun.
Nate McLouth grounds out, first baseman Prince Fielder to pitcher Jeff Suppan.
Adam LaRoche flies out to left fielder Ryan Braun.

Inning 6

Away
Prince Fielder walks.
Mike Cameron walks. Prince Fielder to 2nd.
Pitcher Change: Jesse Chavez replaces Ian Snell, batting 9th.
Corey Hart grounds into a force out, fielded by second baseman Freddy Sanchez. Prince Fielder to 3rd. Mike Cameron out at 2nd. Corey Hart to 1st.
With J. Hardy batting, Corey Hart steals (3) 2nd base.
J. Hardy singles on a ground ball to center fielder Nate McLouth. Prince Fielder scores. Corey Hart scores.
Jason Kendall singles on a ground ball to left fielder Nyjer Morgan. J. Hardy to 2nd.
Jeff Suppan walks. J. Hardy to 3rd. Jason Kendall to 2nd.
Rickie Weeks walks. J. Hardy scores. Jason Kendall to 3rd. Jeff Suppan to 2nd.
Pitcher Change: Sean Burnett replaces Jesse Chavez, batting 9th.
Craig Counsell pops out to first baseman Adam LaRoche in foul territory.
Ryan Braun grounds out, second baseman Freddy Sanchez to first baseman Adam LaRoche.

Home
Brandon Moss strikes out swinging.
Andy LaRoche singles on a line drive to center fielder Mike Cameron.
With Ramon Vazquez batting, wild pitch by Jeff Suppan, Andy LaRoche to 3rd.
Ramon Vazquez out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Mike Cameron. Andy LaRoche scores.
Pitcher Change: Seth McClung replaces Jeff Suppan, batting 9th.
Jason Jaramillo walks.
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Craig Monroe replaces Sean Burnett.
Craig Monroe strikes out swinging.

Inning 7

Away
Pitcher Change: Tyler Yates replaces Sean Burnett, batting 9th.
Prince Fielder pops out to shortstop Ramon Vazquez.
Mike Cameron flies out to center fielder Nate McLouth.
Corey Hart strikes out swinging.

Home
Nyjer Morgan grounds out, shortstop J. Hardy to first baseman Prince Fielder.
Freddy Sanchez flies out to center fielder Mike Cameron.
Nate McLouth walks.
Pitcher Change: Mitch Stetter replaces Seth McClung, batting 6th.
Defensive Substitution: Chris Duffy replaces pitcher Seth McClung, batting 9th, playing right field.
Adam LaRoche flies out to right fielder Chris Duffy.

Inning 8

Away
Pitcher Change: Evan Meek replaces Tyler Yates, batting 9th.
J. Hardy walks.
Jason Kendall walks. J. Hardy to 2nd.
Chris Duffy out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Evan Meek to first baseman Adam LaRoche. J. Hardy to 3rd. Jason Kendall to 2nd.
Rickie Weeks reaches on a fielder’s choice out, third baseman Andy LaRoche to catcher Jason Jaramillo. J. Hardy out at home. Jason Kendall to 3rd.
Craig Counsell doubles (3) on a line drive to left fielder Nyjer Morgan. Jason Kendall scores. Rickie Weeks scores.
Ryan Braun flies out to left fielder Nyjer Morgan.

Home
Brandon Moss walks.
Andy LaRoche grounds into a force out, shortstop J. Hardy to second baseman Rickie Weeks. Brandon Moss out at 2nd. Andy LaRoche to 1st.
Ramon Vazquez walks. Andy LaRoche to 2nd.
Jason Jaramillo flies out to right fielder Chris Duffy.
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Delwyn Young replaces Evan Meek.
Delwyn Young doubles (3) on a fly ball to right fielder Chris Duffy. Andy LaRoche scores. Ramon Vazquez scores.
Nyjer Morgan strikes out on foul tip.

Inning 9

Away
Pitcher Change: Donnie Veal replaces Evan Meek, batting 9th.
Prince Fielder hit by pitch.
With Mike Cameron batting, wild pitch by Donnie Veal, Prince Fielder to 2nd.
Mike Cameron flies out to center fielder Nate McLouth.
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Casey McGehee replaces Mitch Stetter.
Casey McGehee flies out to left fielder Nyjer Morgan.
J. Hardy walks.
Jason Kendall strikes out swinging.

Home
Pitcher Change: Carlos Villanueva replaces Mitch Stetter, batting 6th, replacing Casey McGehee.
Freddy Sanchez flies out to right fielder Chris Duffy.
Nate McLouth strikes out swinging.
Adam LaRoche grounds out, first baseman Prince Fielder to pitcher Carlos Villanueva.

I had a nice visit to Pittsburgh this weekend. I went to the game on Saturday night, which turned out to be the best game of the weekend (and the only game where a Pirate crossed home plate). It was also marathon weekend in Pittsburgh, so I enjoyed watching some friends run all over the city on Sunday.

Game 22 – Zach Duke pitched well (7 innings, 1 ER), but he got absolutely no help from the hitters. Bronson Arroyo shut down and shut out the Pirates, allowing 4 hits in 8 innings. This loss marked the 2nd game in a row where the Bucs were shutout, and it put the Pirates back to .500.

Game 23 – The Pirates got started early, putting 4 singles, a walk, and a HBP together to score 4 runs in the top of the 1st. Later, the Bucs got some help from a Brandon Phillips error that allowed 2 runs to score. In the top of the 9th, with an 8-4 lead, Matt Capps nearly imploded, but he survived with an 8-6 finish. Once again, the Pirates were a game above .500.

Game 24 – The thrill of victory was short-lived, as Johnny Cueto and Jeff Karstens took to the mound at 1:35 on Sunday afternoon. Karstens looked bad, as he gave up 5 runs in 5 innings. Again, the Bucs never got the bats moving, and they were shutout for the 3rd time in 4 games. No Pirate batter reached 2nd base in this game. Back to .500, and the Brewers are coming to PNC for a 2-game series.

Quick Thoughts
- We really need Ryan Doumit and Jack Wilson back in this lineup. Jen Langosch reported that Jack Wilson took some batting practice swings on Sunday. Ryan Doumit will rejoin the team on Friday.
- Who’s hot? – Delwyn Young looks good in the PH role. He’s 3-7 with 2 doubles. Other than giving up the 3 run homer to Lance Berkman on 4/16, Sean Burnett has pitched clean in relief.
- Who’s not? – Brian Bixler 3-15 and 10K, Brandon Moss 13-66 and OBP .243

The Pirates officially won their first series of the season when they took 2 out of 3 games from the Atlanta Braves. The Pirates scored 3-0 and 10-0 shutouts from strong pitching performances by Paul Maholm and Ian Snell. Zach Duke started the 3rd game of the series. Things got off to a bad start and never improved much. The Braves took the final game 11-1.

Some quick notes:

Game 10
Another great start for Paul Maholm. 7IP 4H.
Jack Wilson sat this game out with a sore finger.
Delwyn Young made his first at-bat as a Pirate. He entered as a pinch hitter and fouled out to the catcher.

Game 11
Another great start for Ian Snell. 7IP 4H.
Jack Wilson sat out again.
Craig Monroe had a 6 RBI game.
Andy LaRoche is using a new batting stance, and he seems to be figuring things out, going 3-4 with an RBI

Game 12
Zach Duke didn’t have a great start. 6IP 12H 6R.
Jack Wilson got back into the starting lineup. He went 1-3.
The Pirates had 7 hits, but they could only score 1 meaningless run in the 9th.
Delwyn Young played 2 innings in LF. He struck out swinging in the 8th.

I must admit that baseball will not be my top priority tonight. The Philadelphia Flyers travel to the Burgh for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Still, I’ll keep an eye on the game, and here are some quick notes for tonight:
- We got Delwyn Young for two players to be named later. Apparently, he’ll be in Pittsburgh later this week. Time will tell where he fits in, and who gets bumped to make room for him.
- Andy LaRoche is back in the starting lineup tonight. He WILL get a hit.
- It’s Jackie Robinson day. Pay tribute to #42.

10:23 Update – Well, not much to say about the baseball game (other than everybody wore #42… which made the game very confusing). The Pens, however, got off to a great start, defeating the Flyers 4-1.

The Astros got four runs in a hurry. Mike Hampton threw 6 shutout innings, and that was about enough. Adam LaRoche hit a solo shot in the 9th. Andy LaRoche didn’t get his hit. He was replaced in the top of the 6th.

The most ironic event of the evening for me was that I decided to post my Retrosheet Scorecard this evening, despite my knowledge that at least one game situation doesn’t work well (a pinch hitter is at bat when the third out of an inning is a caught stealing. Sure enough, it happened tonight.