The Pirates have made 2 more big moves today.
Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett to the Washington Nationals for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan.
Eric Hinske to the New York Yankees for Casey Erickson and Eric Fryer.
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Craig Monroe was designated for assignment, and Steven Pearce was recalled from AAA-Indianapolis. Charlie Morton gives his “1st” start for the Pirates a 2nd chance. He takes the mound against Jason Hammel, tonight at 8:10 at Coors Field.
Post Game Updates
Tonight’s loss to the Rockies is very very frustrating.
Down 4-2 after 6 innings, the Pirates got a 4 runs 7th, and they added a run in the 8th to take a 7-4 lead.
The bullpen couldn’t hold it, and the Rockies scored 3 in the 8th and 2 in the 9th to finish a 9-7 victory.
Charlie Morton did his job, holding the Rockies to 2 runs after 5. Sean Burnett didn’t pitch well in the 6th, but Pirate batters bailed him out in the 7th. John Grabow was a disaster in the 8th, and Jesse Chavez was no better in the 9th.
Nyjer Morgan was 4-5 with a run and an RBI. McCutchen was 1-5 with a run and 3 RBI. Brandon Moss went 3-4.
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Post Game Update
The Pirates opened their 3 game series in Colorado tonight. The Rockies are hot under the direction of their new manager Jim Tracy (yes, we all remember him).
The Pirates’ offense was wimpy, but Jack Wilson hit a solo HR in the 7th. Eric Hinske and Andrew McCutchen knocked in two after-the-fact runs in the top of the 9th.
Ross Ohlendorf wasn’t sharp, surrendering 6 runs on 9 hits in 5 innings. Burnett and Meek pitched well. Matt Capps got an inning of work in the 8th, and he gave up a hit and a run.
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Post Game Update
Zach Duke didn’t have a strong start tonight. He gave up 11 hits and 6 runs in 6 innings. Still the Pirates managed to score 2 runs in the 6th thanks to triples from Andrew McCutchen and Freddy Sanchez. Nyjer Morgan and Adam LaRoche each hit sacrifice flies to score McCutchen and Sanchez. Jaramillo, Wilson, Hinske, and McCutchen hit four consecutive hits in the 7th to score 3 runs and tie the game.
The Pirate bullpen pitched remarkably well in innings 7 through 14. Tom Gorzelanny, John Grabow, Sean Burnett, Steven Jackson, Jesse Chavez, and Evan Meek (3 innings!) all kept the Bucs in the game. Jeff Karstens entered for the bottom of the 15th inning, and he surrendered 2 walks and 2 hits, and Matt Diaz knocked in the winning run.
This was a tough loss for the Pirates tonight. Bobby Cox got his 2,000th win as a Braves manager. Nate McLouth hit a HR in his first game against the Pirates. Luckily, Andrew McCutchen is playing great, although is defense could use some work.
Since Karstens came into the game in relief tonight, we may see Charlie Morton enter the starting rotation soon.
Tonight’s game also brought up a minor bug in my scoresheet. I’ve known that there is currently a serious limitation in the scoresheet. Each team can only have 63 plate appearances. As I finished the scoresheet, I breathed a sigh of relief when the Pirates finished with 62 plate appearances and the Braves finished with 63. The minor bug occurred when a team had exactly 63 plate appearances. I’ll post an update shortly.
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I really thought today was going to be the day. Coming into the game, we had lost 7 in a row and 11 of the last 12. I thought we had a favorable pitching matchup (Ian Snell @ Livan Hernandez). We were swinging pink bats on Mother’s Day. We even got a 2-0 after 3 innings.
In the first inning, Nyjer Morgan singled and stole 2nd. A Delwyn Young single and a Nate McLouth sac fly brought him in. In the second inning, McLouth doubled and a Robinzon Diaz single brought him in.
Not surprisingly, it fell apart.
The Mets put some hits together in the bottom of the 4th to score 3 runs. Ian Snell left the game after 6 innings with the Pirates trailing 3-2. Sean Burnett came in and a Brian Bixler error at shortstop allowed the 7th inning to go longer than it should have and the Mets added another. John Grabow came in for the 8th inning and gave up 3 more runs.
Nate McLouth added an after-the-fact 2 run homer in the 9th.
Final Score: Mets 8, Pirates 4
We know we won’t lose tomorrow. Thankfully, the Bucs have the day off.
Jack Wilson played a AAA game on Saturday. He went 1 for 3 with an RBI double, and he started a double play for the Indianapolis Indians. He should be back in the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Cardinals. It’s a good thing because we need him in the lineup badly. This season, Brian Bixler has had 25 at bats and 18 strikeouts. He’s committed 2 errors in 8 games.
Brian Bixler - The Indianapolis Indians should get their SS back tomorrow.
What a time to be playing the Mets! After losing 5 in a row and 9 of our last 10, now we get to go to the Big Apple and play 3 games with one of the best teams in baseball in their brand new stadium.
I didn’t see any of this game because I was out kayaking and camping on the Susquehanna River. All I missed was another loss for our losing streak.
It was Jeff Karstens @ Jon Niese. Karstens actually did a fair job, pitching 6 innings and leaving with the score 2-2. The disaster came in the 8th inning at the hands of Tyler Yates and Sean Burnett. Yates gave up 2 singles and a walk. Burnett came in and gave up a HR, a single, a double, a wild pitch, and a walk.
The Pirates added a meaningless run in the 9th. 7-3 Mets.
This series could get ugly.
After a disappointing home-stand against the Reds and Brewers, the Pirates travel to St. Louis to take on the division leading Cardinals. At 17-10, the Cardinals have one of the best records in baseball, but the Pirates managed a 2-2 split with them in their season-opening series.
Tonight, we’ll see: Zach Duke (3-2, 2.21) @ Mitchell Boggs (1-0, 3.29)
Delwyn Young will be starting in right field.
Post Game Update:
Given the current state of the Pirates’ offense, it tough to win many games. Pirate hitting was too few and far between, and the Pirates lost to the Cardinals 4-2. That’s their 8th loss in 9 games. (I guess I need to be in attendance more often!)
Tonight wasn’t Zach Duke’s best outing, but he still left the game in a manageable condition. Sean Burnett continued to be the strongest member of the Bucs’ bullpen, pitching 2 and 1/3 strong innings.
Albert Pujols was nasty, as always, going 4-4 including a 1st inning homer.
Our offense needs a jump-start.
Delwyn Young... until I can find a picture of him in a Pirates' uniform
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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.
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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
This game was not pretty and not a fun one to listen to, but despite it all, the Pirates still found themselves with a chance to win late in the game.
The Bucs scored 2 runs in the top half of the first inning thanks to four consecutive singles from the top of our order, followed by a J.J. Hardy error. Jeff Karstens looked bad in his 5 innings of work, and he served up the Brewer hitters early and often. He gave up 5 runs on 3 homers in the first three innings.
Jesse Chavez and Evan Meek each pitched a scoreless inning, and the Pirate bats fought for 2 runs in the top of the eighth to tie the score at 5-5.
Then, the bullpen collapsed.
Coming into tonight, John Grabow was 1-0, pitching 10 innings for 8H, 0R, 0ER, 3 BB, and 10K. Tonight, he pitched 1/3 of an inning for 2H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 0K.
Tyler Yates’ struggles continued last night. He pitched 1/3 of an inning for 0H, 3R, 3ER, 1BB, and 0K. His ERA for the season is up to 9.95.
Sean Burnett entered to get the final out of the 8th, but it was too little, too late. The damage was done.
Brian Bixler played shortstop in place of the injured Jack Wilson. He went 0-4 with 4K.
Positives from tonight: Adam LaRoche, Nyjer Morgan, and Freddy Sanchez continue their hot hitting. Andy LaRoche has an 11 game hit streak.
The Pirates have now lost 16 consecutive games at Miller Park! That’s just ridiculous, and it needs to end tonight.
Paul Maholm @ Dave Bush – 8:05
Miller Park: Not a Friendly Place
