Pittsburgh Pirates Vs. Chicago Cubs: June 28-30, 2010

After a terrible start to the Pirates’ last road trip of June, they entered Chicago for yet another series with the Cubs, this time at Wrigley Field. The Buccos have had great success against the Cubs so far this season, and another strong series performance couldn’t have come at a better time.

Monday, June 28: Paul Maholm pitched a brilliant game, Octavio Dotel shut down the bats in the 9th, and the struggling offense garnered just enough production to give the Pirates the opening game win over the Cubs, 2-1. Coming off his worst performance as a professional, Maholm scattered 7 hits over 8 innings while only giving up 1 run, lowering his ERA to 3.98.

After giving up a run in 2nd inning, the Pirates responded immediately in the 3rd on Andrew McCutchen’s RBI triple, scoring Jose Tabata. Then in the top of the 9th, Tabata confirmed his player of the game status, as he belted a run-scoring double to deep center, and Ryan Doumit crossed the plate to give the Pirates the lead, and the eventual victory.

Tuesday, June 29: A day after ending their 17 game road losing streak, the Pirates looked as though they were headed straight into another disappointing run after a lackluster, offense-less performance in the 2nd game of their 3-game series with the Cubs.

Starter Jeff Karstens once again pitched a solid game, giving up 2 earned runs on 7 hits through 6 innings, but the offense proved to be completely ineffective against Ted Lilly, who improved to 3-6 and lowered his ERA to 3.12, as the Cubs beat the Pirates 3-1. While the Buccos did tally 7 hits, they were scattered and run-scoring opportunities were rare on this night. Ryan Doumit, in fact, proved to be the only offensive threat, going 2-3, which included his solo blast into the left field bleachers in the 5th inning.

Alfonso Soriano was the star of the game for the Cubs, going 2-4 with 2 homeruns, which proved to be the difference in the ballgame. The victory for the Cubs was a big one for them, trying to regain some dignity against the Pirates, while also setting up the rubber match on Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday, June 30: For the 3rd straight game, the Pirates’ pitching was impressive while the offense was putrid. On this day, however, the bats came alive in just enough time as they tallied 2 runs in the 8th inning on their way to their 9th win in 12 tries against Cubs, shutting them out at Wrigley, 2-0.

The headline news was that Buccos starter Brad Lincoln earned his first victory of this career. All of the scoring came in the 8th inning, as Garrett Jones doubled home Andy LaRoche, and Lastings Milledge then walked with the bases loaded to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead, which is all closer Octavio Dotel would need to close the game.

While the Pirates didn’t light up the scoreboard, they did prove to get timely hitting. Andrew McCutchen had 2 hits, while 6 other Buccos tallied a hit each, including Jones, who knocked home the go-ahead RBI, helping the Pirates win the series against the Cubbies.

So the Pirates continue their dominance over the Cubs with another series victory. They now will return home to take on the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park for a 4 game series over the 4th of July weekend. While this was a positive series for the Pirates, they still find themselves 24 games under .500, so again, it is important for fans out there to concentrate on the smaller details of the game, rather than the scoreboard or the standings.

Current Record: 27-51

And…As Always…Let’s Go Bucs!

Pittsburgh Pirates Vs. Oakland Athletics: June 25-27, 2010

The middle set of a three series road trip found the Pirates in their final interleague matchup of the year as they headed to Oakland to battle the Athletics. After already being swept by the Texas Rangers in the first part of this trip, the Buccos looked to salvage some dignity with interleague play as they came into this series with a 2010 interleague play record of 2-10.

Friday June 25: Blowout. The Pirates once again found themselves on the wrong side of 14-4 defeat, this time at the hands of the Athletics. The Buccos lead off the game by scoring two runs in the top of the first, off of A’s pitcher Ben Sheets, which gave fans hope that the Pirates offense would be alive in this game. This lead didn’t last long as the Athletics tied it up in the bottom of the inning. The Pirates once again took the lead in the top of the third when Ryan Doumit doubled home Andrew McCutchen. This would be the final time the Buccos would lead for the night as the Athletics would score two runs in the bottom of the inning. Going into the bottom of the seventh the Pirates trailed 5-4 and still had hopes of pulling out a W. Unfortunately the Bucco bullpen would get shelled for seven runs putting the game well out of reach and sending them to their fourth loss in a row and fifteenth consecutive road loss. A’s outfielder, Coco Crisp, fell a homerun short of hitting for the cycle in the game. A scary moment occurred for the Pirates when the back of Neil Walker’s head collided with the thigh of Ryan Church in the bottom of the seventh. Walker was removed from the game and taken to a local hospital.

Saturday June 26: Game two of the series featured each team wearing retro uniforms from the 1970’s, an era that fans from each franchise wish they could relive. The Pirates and Athletics combined for five of the ten World Series winners from that decade. Unfortunately for Pirates fans the old uniforms did not help as the Pirates were shutout 5-0. Daniel McCutchen made the start for the Buccos and went six innings giving up four runs and seven hits. His mound opponent, Trevor Cahill, would have a great outing going 7 2/3 innings, striking out 10 while walking 3. The lone home run of the night came from A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki, who went deep in the fifth inning. The Pirates offense was obviously silenced since they were shut out, but they were also only able to manage two hits in the game. Those hits came from Jose Tabata and Lastings Milledge. Pedro Alvarez went 0-3 with two strikeouts as he saw his already abysmal batting average drop to .114.

Sunday June 26: Errors lead the Pirates to defeat on this day. It all began with an errant pickoff throw by Ross Ohlendorf to first, followed by an error from Garrett Jones to third, which allowed Cliff Pennington to score in the third. In the fifth inning a routine fly ball was dropped by Andrew McCutchen allowed runners to advance to second and third. With the bases loaded Ohlendorf would walk a run in just two batters later to make the score 2-0. Fortunately though Ohlendorf was able to get three straight outs with the bases loaded to avoid any more damage. In the seventh inning Lastings Milledge would finally hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot off of Gio Gonzalez, to cut the lead to 2-1. Later that inning Jose Tabata would hit a two out double to bring in Andy LaRoche to tie the game at 2. The final error to hurt the Pirates would occur in the bottom of the eighth when Jason Jaramillio would miss read a foul ball with two outs. The very next pitch would be a solo home run by A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki, to make it 3-2 which would be the final.

This would mark the second straight series the Pirates would be swept and their 17th consecutive loss on the road. Thankfully this was the final interleague series for the Pirates as they would finish the year 2-13. Right now no one is playing well for the Pirates. The defense is committing errors, the pitching is walking batters and giving up hits at the wrong time, and the offense is nowhere to be found. The Pirates will finish up the horrible month of June on the road against division rival Chicago for a three game set. The Cubs are a team the Pirates have played well against this year. Hopefully they can continue this trend and carry some momentum into July.

Current Record: 25-50

And...As Always...Let's Go Bucs!

Pittsburgh Pirates Vs. Texas Rangers: June 22-24, 2010

The Pirates left PNC Park, ironically enough, with a bit of optimism. After losing 12 straight games, the Buccos had rebounded with 2 wins and a series victory over the Mistake From the Lake (as coined by Zane The Train Heiple), the Cleveland Indians. Because of this, there was a very small light of hope that the Pirates could carry over this momentum as they hit the road against the Texas Rangers, starting a 9-game, 3 city road trip.

Tuesday, June 22: The Rangers came into this series red hot, and they continued that type of play against our Pirates. After a lackluster start against Buccos starter Ross Ohlendorf, the Rangers tattooed him for 4 runs on 5 hits in just 4.2 innings, handing the Pirates an opening series loss, 6-3.

The Pirates did jump on top early in the 1st, as Garrett Jones singled home Neil Walker. Then in the 4th, the Buccos took a 2-0 lead on a Rangers error which allowed Pedro Alvarez to score. But Texas came back with a run in the 4th and 3 runs in the 5th, distancing themselves from the Pirates, and never looked back from there. Julio Borbon blasted a 3-run homer in the 5th, which gave the Rangers the lead for good. Bobby Crosby did go 3-4 with an RBI in a losing effort for the Pirates.

Wednesday, June 23: The Rangers extended their winning streak to 10 games on Wednesday with a 13-3 annihilation of the Pirates. Texas obliterated starter Paul Maholm, who only lasted 1 inning, giving up 5 runs on 4 walks and 7 hits, inflating his ERA to 4.24. The two big blowout innings for the Rangers came in the 2nd and 4th, where they scored 5 and 6 runs respectively.

Michael Young went 3-4 for Texas, blasting a homerun as well as knocking in 4 RBI. Bobby Crosby had a multi-hit game for the 2nd straight night, While Jose Tabata, Ryan Church, Delwyn Young, and Pedro Alvarez had the rest of the hits for the Pirates, tallying only 1 a piece. It was another frustrating game for the Buccos, dropping them to 21 games under the .500 and it also guaranteed another road series loss.

Thursday, June 24: Usually when the Pirates are playing against a team who completely overmatches them, there is one game in which the Buccos should win, or at least, have a chance to win. That game was the series finally on Thursday, in which the Pirates jumped on the board for 4 runs in the first inning. Garrett Jones, who went 3-4 on the night, got the scoring started with an RBI single to right, scoring Jose Tabata. Pedro Alvarez then blased a 2-run double, and later scored on Ryan Doumit’s single.

Little by little, however, the Rangers’ bats began to warm up while the Pirates started to waste opportunities. Texas tallied one run in the 2nd inning, then 2 in the 4th, and 2 in the 7th to tie the game, 5-5. Then in the bottom of the 9th, after the Pirates squandered an opportunity in the top half of the inning, Vladmir Guerrero singled to left, driving home the game-winning RBI, extending the Rangers wining streak and completing the series sweep of our beloved Buccos.

This was a terrible start to the road trip for the Pirates. They were completely overmatched in the first two games, which was frustrating enough, but then to blow a 4 run lead and lose it in the bottom of the 9th is heartbreaking. It seems as though they find new ways to lose each game. Pedro Alvarez, while at times looks as though he’s beginning to settle in, has games where it appears as though he should still be playing in Altoona even. Garrett Jones seems to have found himself at the plate, as his average stands at .289.

The team, flat out, can’t score runs. To add to the problem, the starting pitching has been downright horrendous, and they lack the starter who can walk out on the mound every 4 or 5 days and shut down the opposition. Unless the Pirates’ bats wake up or the pitching becomes somewhat satisfactory, they will continue to lose games. Teams in professional baseball are too good to and will beat the Pirates every game if they continue to play the way they are now.

Current Record: 25-47

And…As Always…Let’s Go Bucs!

Cleveland Indians Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: June 18-20, 2010

The Pirates entered their 3-game weekend series against the Cleveland Indians in desperate need of a win. They began this series winless in interleague play, and with a difficult road trip approaching in the near future, this was the series to get back on track…against a struggling Indians team who seems to make ALMOST as many simple mistakes as our beloved Buccos.

Friday, June 18: The Pirates and Indians played into a pitchers’ dual on Friday night, up until the 7th inning anyway. Cleveland tallied 4 runs in the inning, which proved to be enough for them to take game 1 of the series and extended the Pirates current losing streak to a ridiculously awful 12 games.

Jason Donald slated an RBI single to give the Indians the initial lead, and was followed up by 2 singles and a double, scoring 4 runs in all, breaking the game open against Paul Maholm, who suffered his 5th loss on the season. The Pirates did respond in the bottom of that same inning. With the bases full of Buccos and no outs, Ryan Church blasted a bases-clearing double to left-center, which brought the Pirates to within a run. But as usual, the Buccos were unable to bring Church around to score, and wasted opportunities ended up stranding him at second, and they would eventually lose the game.

Saturday, June 19: FINALLY! The Pittsburgh Pirates have won a baseball game! For the first time since June 5, the Buccos tally up a victory, beating the Indians 6-4 and tying the series, setting up a rubber match at PNC Park on Sunday.

Lastings Milledge, a day after unexpectedly sitting out the game, went 3-4 with 4 RBI, including a triple, double, and single. Pedro Alvarez also tallied his first hit and RBI as a major leaguer in the 5th inning with a ground rule double to left field, scoring Milledge.

Jeff Karstens, once again, managed the game adequately, while not shutting down the opposition, certainly giving his team a chance to win the game. And that’s exactly what they did. Karstens’ final line read 5.1 innings pitched, 4 runs on 6 hits, while not surrendering a walk and striking out a pair. Andrew McCutchen went 2-2 as well as being walked 3 times and scoring 4 runs on the night. A much needed victory for the Pirates on Saturday, while also giving them a chance to finally win a series again.

Sunday, June 20: Bobby Crosby went 3-3, Garrett Jones tallied 2 more hits and an RBI, and Brad Lincoln pitched a decently solid game as the Pirates took the rubber match against the Cleveland Indians, 5-3, winning the series and taking their second straight game at PNC Park.

Starter Lincoln lasted 6 innings, while giving up 3 runs on 8 hits, but AGAIN, kept the game close and manageable, which enabled the offense to come around and score some much needed runs against the Indians’ bullpen. Pedro Alvarez smacked a sacrifice fly to right in the 8th inning, scoring Andrew McCutchen and giving the Pirates the lead. Crosby followed that up with a single to shallow center, scoring Garrett Jones and giving the Buccos some breathing room. This proved to be more than enough for closer Octavio Dotel, who closed the door on the Indians’ bats and ending the series at PNC Park with a victory.

The Pirates earned a winning series against the Cleveland Indians, something they desperately needed before heading out west for a very difficult road trip. The Pirates struggle out west, they are dismal on the road, and they are usually dominated in interleague play. Unfortunately, these are all factors as they board the plane tonight for trips out to take on the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics for a 6-game stretch against the American League, before returning to some divisional action against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Those 3 series will wrap up what, so far, as been an absolutely horrible month for the Pirates. They still have 9 games remaining, and even an unrealistic optimist couldn’t predict them finishing these games any higher than .500.

Cleveland Indians Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: Friday, June 18 Pregame Show
Cleveland Indians Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: Friday,June 18 Postgame Show

Cleveland Indians Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: Saturday, June 19 Pregame Show
Cleveland Indians Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: Saturday, June 19 Postgame Show

Current Record: 25-44

And…As Always…Let’s Go Bucs!

Chicago White Sox Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: June 15-17- 2010

After being swept for 2 straight series and losing 8 games overall, the Pirates returned to PNC Park for a 3-game set against the Chicago White Sox. After a completely embarrassing road trip, it was a welcoming return to Pittsburgh, where the Pirates haven’t been THAT terrible this year.

Tuesday, June 15: The White Sox scattered 6 runs across the board throughout a frustrating ballgame in the opening game of the series between the two clubs, ruining the PNC Park debut of Brad Lincoln, as the Buccos dropped 6-4 and surrendered their 9th consecutive game.

The Pirates got the scoring started in the 1st with a 2-run double by Garrett Jones. The Sox would answer right back in the 2nd and 4th innings with 2 runs in each frame. The Buccos responded in the 5th with two RBI singles by Andrew McCutchen and Ryan Doumit, but it wouldn’t last long, as the White Sox took the lead in the 6th with a run-scoring of their own by Gordon Beckham, and then tacked on another run in the 9th.

Lincoln lasted 6 innings, while giving up 5 runs on 6 hits while walking 3…not exactly his dream debut at his home ballpark. The relief came in and did a satisfactory job, but regular closer Octavio Dotel did surrender a run in the 9th, and the Pirates dropped the series-opening game by a score of 6-4.

Wednesday, June 16: The losing streak reached double digits on Wednesday, as the Buccos were overwhelmed (to say the least) by the White Sox, 7-2. The Sox got 3 runs in the 4th (which turned out to be all they would need), and a pair of runs in the 6th and 9th on their way to a thumping of the last place Buccos. Carlos Quentin was the hitting star of the day, going 2-4 with 2 RBI for the winning White Sox, guaranteeing that they would take the series victory against the Pirates.

Despite the loss, Wednesday served as the introduction of Pedro Alvarez to the major leagues, and vice versa. While he went hitless in his debut, Pedro did score his first run of his Major League career by way of Bobby Crosby’s groundout sacrifice. Minor-league recent call up Jose Tabata also slammed his first major league homerun in the 8th inning. Overall, this was another embarrassing loss for the Buccos, who actually managed to tally more errors (6) than hits (5). A frustrated team and fan-base left PNC Park with their heads held low, and no wonder.

Thursday, June 17: And there ya go…another loss for the Pirates, dropping them to 20 games under .500, extending their current losing streak to 11, while being swept in their 3rd straight series. Carlos Quentin, once again, was a large part of the victory of the White Sox, going 2-4 with an RBI, helping the Windy City Sox to a 5-4 win and series sweep at PNC Park.

Neil Walker continued his impressive play since being called up with a solo homerun in the 6th. Then the Pirates tacked on 3 more in the 8th with RBI singles by Andrew McCutchen and Lastings Milledge, and Garrett Jones sacrificed Jose Tabata home to bring the Buccos within a single run. But with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 3rd, Pedro Alvarez struck out swinging to end the inning, the threat, and eventually, the game.

So the Pirates continue to lay down for their opponents. Whether it’s on the road or at PNC Park, or whether they’re losing by 1 run or 10 runs, they just can’t seem to get over the hurdle and just take home a W. They have now entered the basement of the National League, and if it weren’t for the lowly Baltimore Orioles, who are in a division with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays, they would be the worst team in baseball…they probably are anyway. The terribly scrappy Cleveland Indians come into town for a weekend series next. This should be the team that the Buccos can break the streak against…but at this point, it’s tough to have confidence in any aspect of the Pirates game.

Current Record: 23-43

And…As Always…Let’s Go Bucs!

Pittsburgh Pirates Vs. Detroit Tigers: June 11-13, 2010

The Pirates left Washington after being swept in a three game series by the Nationals and boarded a plane for the Motor City to take on the Detroit Tigers. This would mark the first interleague series of the year for the Buccos and for those of us who follow the team we know that they usually do not fare well when it comes to interleague play.

Friday June 11: Different opponent, same results. For the sixth game in a row the Pirates found themselves on the losing end of the ball game as they would fall to the Tigers 6-2. Ross Ohlendorf, who fell to 0-4 on the year, allowed six runs and ten hits in six innings. His counterpart, Justin Verlander, went seven innings allowing two runs on four hits. Once again the Pirates bats were kept quiet. Andrew McCutchen gave the Pirates the lead in third by doubling in Aki Iwamura. McCutchen would score the other run in eighth when Garrett Jones would single him in. Another disturbing trend during this losing streak is the amount of home runs the Pirates pitchers have been giving up. This game would be no different as the Tigers would get a solo shot by Brennan Boesch in the fourth and a two run shot by Ramon Santiago in the sixth. With two games left in the series its quite obvious that the Pirates need more offense and better starting pitching if they hope to salvage the series.

Saturday June 12: Detroit hosted their 16th annual Negro League tribute game as the Tigers wore the uniforms the Detroit Stars and Pirates represented the Pittsburgh Crawfords. Even a change of uniform couldn’t help the Pirates on this date. Defensive miscues and a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the tenth by Carlos Guillen, off of Brendan Donnelly, led the Tigers to a 4-3 win as the Pirates lost their seventh in a row. The Ryan Doumit at first experiment continued tonight and led to terrible results. Twice in the game Doumit was unable to control balls thrown to him. One resulted in the Tigers taking a 3-2 lead in the seventh. He also allowed many hit ground balls to go between him and the 2nd baseman. Of course the lead never would have occurred if Evan Meek would have turned a double play instead of chasing a runner on third into a rundown. This type of poor defense has cost the Pirates many games this season. The Pirates offense continued their struggles as Jason Jaramillo hit into a double play with the bases loaded in the second and Ronny Cedeno looked confused on two strikeouts as to what he is supposed to do at the plate. A plus for the Buccos was Garrett Jones hitting a home run and Jose Tabata doubling in the second, stealing third, and scoring on a Neil Walker single.

Sunday June 13: Consistency is something the Pirates were looking for when they season started, but not this kind. For the eighth day in a row the Pirates lost, this time to the Tigers by the final of 4-3. This also marked the second series in a row that they Pirates were swept in a three game series. The reasons for the Buccos loss today were lack of offense and poor bullpen pitching. Garret Jones hit a solo homer in the second inning and had a RBI double in the fourth that scored Ryan Doumit to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. The Tigers bats would awaken in the seventh with a solo shot by Alex Avila off of reliever DJ Carrasco. Javier Lopez would come in with two outs in the eighth inning to face one batter, Johnny Damon, and walk him. John Russell would call for Octavio Dotel to come in and face Miguel Cabrera. Not one of Russell’s smarter choices as Cabrera would blast a home run giving the Tigers a 4-2 lead. Doumit would score again in the ninth, on a sacrifice fly by Delwyn Young, to make the score 4-3 which would be the final. Once again the Pirates wasted another strong outing by Jeff Karstens who would go seven innings allowing two runs on six hits.

This was a terrible road trip for the Pirates. It is harder and harder to follow this club with the way they lose games. As a fan you try to stay positive, but there is a part of you that says that somehow someway they will blow this game. Hopefully a day off and a return home will allow the Pirates to pull off a few wins in the six game homestand.

Current Record: 23-40

And...As Always...Let's Go Bucs!

Pittsburgh Pirates Vs. Washington Nationals: June 8-10, 2010

After a .500 home stand, the Buccos hit the road for a six game road trip. Their first series was against the Washington Nationals. The Nationals have been a surprise this year as they entered the series with a record of 27-31, which isn’t too bad for a team that finished with the worst record in baseball the year before.

Tuesday June 8: One word to describe this game. Strasburg. Stephen Strasburg, the number one overall pick of the Washington Nationals in 2009, made his major league debut tonight and he lived up to all the hype. With a fastball hitting 100 mph, a curveball dropping four feet in the strike zone, and a changeup around 79 mph the Pirates offense had no answer for the phenom. He would finish the night going seven innings giving up two earned runs on four hits, striking out fourteen, and walking zero. The Pirates would get their only offense off of a two run home run by Delwyn Young in the fourth. This would be the only mistake Strasburg would make on the night. The Nationals offense would tee off on Buccos starter Jeff Karstens hitting 3 home runs in the game as they would go on to win 5-2. Pirates losses aren’t usual historic, but if Stephen Strasburg goes on to a Hall Of Fame career, this game will go down in Major League Baseball history.

Wednesday June 9: A day after the Nationals saw the savior of their franchise pitch, the Pirates called up two of their top prospects for their first major league starts. Pitcher Brad Lincoln and outfielder Jose Tabata showed that not only were they ready for the big leagues, but that they can be big pieces to the Buccos writing the ship. Tabata would go 2-4 at the plate with a walk and a stolen base, while playing solid defense. Lincoln on the other hand did not have a Strasburg like night, but no logical Pirates fan expected that. He would go six innings giving up seven hits, five earned runs, walk two, strike out three, and give up one home run. In Lincoln’s defense the Pirate gloves weren’t helping him much in the field with a slew of bad plays. He would also show his ability with the bat going 2-3 with one RBI. Unfortunately, with all the excitement of two prospects entering the lineup, the Pirates would go on to lose 7-5. Adam Dunn would hit a 2 run homerun in the bottom of the first for the Nationals. The Pirates held a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the fourth, which is when the Nationals added three more runs. Washington then broke a tie in the bottom of the seventh with a Ryan Zimmerman single.

Thursday June 10: When you think of hat tricks and Washington usually Alex Ovechkin comes to mind. But on this night it would be Adam Dunn who would capture a series hat trick by hitting his third home run in as many days. It would occur in the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot. That was followed up with a solo shot from Josh Wilingham. The Pirates only offense of the night came in the top of the sixth from a Jose Tabata double that scored Zach Duke and an Andrew McCutchen sacrifice fly that scored Tabata. This would not be enough as the Nationals would win the game 4-2 and sweep the Pirates in the three game series. Zach Duke once again pitched an alright game giving up two earned runs in five innings pitched, but the Bucco bats did not help Duke out when it came to the game results as his record dropped to 3-7. Evan Meek came on in relief in the bottom of the sixth and worked his way out of a bases loaded jam.

This was once again a very disappointing series for the Pirates, but we as Pirates fans should not be surprised. This team is not good and could easily be headed to a 100 loss season. If you have read my part of the blog you know how I feel about the offense, defense, and pitching. I would recommend to all Pirates fans for the rest of the 2010 season, that when you watch a game do not worry about the score of the game, instead focus on the individual aspects. Watch the improvements of players like Tabata, McCutchen, Jones, Doumit, Walker, and Lincoln. These are the players that will be dealt with the difficult task of turning the ship around. Rumor has it that 2008 first round pick Pedro Alvarez could be called up for the June 15 game against the White Sox.

Current Record: 23-37

And...As Always…..Lets Go Bucs

Chicago Cubs Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: June 7, 2010

The Pirates entered Monday afternoon’s game against the Chicago Cubs with a chance to do something that has never been done to their windy-city rivals before: beat them every game at home. That’s right, the Cubs had never had a winless season at Pittsburgh in their history. This game, a rescheduled matter from last week, served as the last chance for the Cubs to avoid this embarrassing record.

Monday, June 7: The Pirates' starter Dana Eveland, recently acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays, got the nod in the makeup game against the Cubs. His performance on Monday could best be described as “Ehhhh…” He pitched 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits while walking 2 on way to his first loss as a Pittsburgh Pirate. The Cubs jumped on him early, tallying a run in 3 of the first 4 innings. Typically, the Pirates are notorious for giving up a huge inning that ultimately closes the door on any comeback chance. That was not the case today, as the Cubs, one inning at a time, put the game further and further out of reach, which include a 2 run 9th which sealed the deal for Chicago, 6-1.

The Bucco lumber was non-existent on this night, as they were only able to muster 6 hits as a team. Bobby Crosby was the only multi-hit Pirate of the game, and Jason Jaramillo supplied the only RBI with his sacrifice fly in the 7th inning.

So the Pirates complete their home-stand with a 3-3 record, with a VERY difficult road trip ahead of them. Our battlin’ Buccos will travel to Washington for a 3 game set with the Nationals, before getting their first taste of Interleague play of the season against the Detroit Tigers. This is the most challenging month of the season so far for Pittsburgh, so time will tell how long they can keep the fans, and themselves, interested.

Current Record: 23-34

And…As Always…Let’s Go Bucs!

San Francisco Giants Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: June 4-6, 2010

After two full days off, the Pirates once again took the filed at PNC Park, this time for a 3 game series against Freddy Sanchez and the San Francisco Giants.

Friday, June 4: After a nearly 3 hour rain delay, the first pitch of the series was thrown at 10:00PM local time. The Pirates jumped out to an early lead in the 2nd inning, as Zach Duke reached base on an error, scoring Ryan Doumit. Then Bucco stud Andrew McCutchen blasted a 2-run double, followed by Neil Walker’s single, scoring McCutchen. The Pirates were up 4-0 and looking as if they would run away with game 1 of the series.

As is the case with most games, it wasn’t that easy for the Pirates. In fact, it wasn’t easy at all. The Giants scored 2 in the 5th inning to cut the lead in half. But the 6th inning was where they broke the Pirates’ backs. Juan Uribe crushed a 2-run homerun, followed, 2 batters later, by Aubrey Huff’s 2-run blast, giving the Giants an eventual 6-4 win at PNC Park.

After a great start, Zach Duke’s effectiveness disappeared. His final line read something like this: 6 runs on 10 hits through 6 innings, inflating his ERA to 5.43. The bullpen came in and didn’t even surrender a hit in their 3 innings of work, but the damage had already been done. The Pirates had lost the lead and the game, and had fallen to a depressing 10 games under .500.

Saturday, June 5: The Pirates once again jumped on the Giants on Saturday, only this time, they never lost it again. Ryan Doumit smacked a sacrifice fly in the 1st inning, scoring Andrew McCutchen. Cutch tallied 4 hits on the evening, including another in the 3rd, and he then scored on Neil Walker’s triple. Doumit followed that up later in the inning with a 2-run homer. They added 2 more runs in the 4th, as McCutchen blasted a solo HR while Doumit hammered a ground rule double, scoring Walker for his 4th RBI of the night.

Pirates’ starter Paul Maholm did a solid job on Saturday, going 6.1 innings, while giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, lowering his ERA to 3.80 on the season. The win on Saturday set up the rubber match on Sunday afternoon, a game that both the Pirates and Giants certainly need.

Sunday, June 6: Tim Lincecum out-lasted Ross Ohlendorf, and that’s exactly what the Giants did to the Pirates on Sunday in the final game of the series at PNC Park. Ohlendorf went 6 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits. Unfortunately for the Pirates, though, the almost-always reliable bullpen surrendered 3 runs, including the game-clincher for the Giants, as ex-Bucco Freddy Sanchez slapped a sac fly to center, scoring the Giants winning run.

Garrett Jones belted a homerun, going 2-3 with 2RBI and was the Pirates’ hitting star of the day. Ryan Doumit also had 2 hits, while Lastings Milledge, Ronny Cedeno, and Ohlendorf also chipped in with a hit a piece. Another spotlight was pinch-hitter Delwyn Young’s 2-run homerun in the 9th, tying the game at the time, but was in an eventual losing effort.

So the Pirates dropped 2 out of 3 from a west coast opponent at PNC Park. It certainly doesn’t get any easier from here for the Buccos, as the month of June represents perhaps the most difficult stretch of games of the season. For now, the team needs to take it one game at a time, which begins on Monday against the Chicago Cubs for the rescheduled game at 12:35.

San Francisco Giants Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: June 4 Pregame Show
San Francisco Giants Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: June 4 Postgame Show

Current Record: 23-33

And…Always…Let’s Go Bucs!

Chicago Cubs Vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: May 31-June 2, 2010

The Pirates really needed to come home. After a dismal 1-6 road trip against the Reds and Braves, the Buccos returned to PNC Park for a 3 game set against the Chicago Cubs, a team that, ironically enough, the Pirates have handled easily so far this season. Coming into this homestand, the Pirates were at a season-low 11 games under the .500 mark.

Monday, May 31: Happy Memorial Day! The Pirates got a superb start from Ross Ohlendorf, great relief efforts by Evan Meek and Octavio Dotel, and two clutch hits from Garrett Jones to take the first game of the 3-game series against Randy Wells and the Cubs, 2-1 at PNC Park.

Jones blasted a solo homerun in the 6th inning, tying the game at that point. Then, in the 8th, he doubled to lead off the inning, and was singled home by Bobby Crosby, which would prove to be the winning run. While the Buccos’ bats sure weren’t any more prevalent on Monday than they’ve been in the past week, they produced JUST enough offense to snap their 5-game losing streak, and continued their winning ways against the Windy City Cubbies, taking game 1 of the series.

Tuesday, June 1: The hometown kid won it for the Pirates in game 2 of their series against the Cubs. Local boy Neil Walker spanked a two-run HR over the wall in the bottom of the 8th inning, giving the Pirates the lead, and the eventual win. It was Walker’s first career homerun as a major leaguer.

Runs certainly didn’t come easy in this game. Buccos starter Jeff Karstens pitched a nice game, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits while walking 3 through 6 innings. The bullpen, once again, was solid, allowing only 1 hit through the final 3 innings of the game. While Walk, of course, was the hero of the game, Garrett Jones also chipped in with 2 hits, including a solo homerun in the 4th. With two wins under their belts, the Pirates were set to enter the final game of the series looking for the sweep of the Cubbies.

Wednesday, June 2: Unfortunately, the Pirates’ chances to sweep Chicago were ruined on Wednesday. The game was postponed due to rain and was rescheduled for Monday, June 7.

Current Record: 22-31

And…As Always…Let’s Go Bucs!