Correia Becomes National League's Win Leader As Pirates Rout Mets 9-3

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: AP

For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Pirates struggled mightily in the early innings, only to rally late to take another game from the New York Mets tonight.  The Buccos scored five in the seventh and four in the eighth, turning a once low-scoring close contest into a blowout, beating the Mets at Citifield by a final score of 9-3.

The Pirates struggled early against the Mets’ starter Chris Capuano, who came into the game sporting a 3-5 record and a 4.94 ERA.  Things were going very well for Capuano until the seventh inning, where some heads-up baseball from the Pirates and a little misfortune for the Mets turned into the game-changing sequence of events.

Andrew McCutchen led off the inning with an infield single, and Neil Walker followed that up with a bunt single of his own.  Matt Diaz then hit a weak dribbler down the third base line that Capuano was unable to handle, loading the bases with no outs in the frame.  Chris Snyder then hit an infield single, allowing Cutch to score.  Lyle Overbay smacked a liner to center field, which was misplayed by Angel Pagan, scoring Walker from third base.

Pedro Beato relieved Capuano, giving up an RBI single to Xavier Paul.  After Jose Tabata tallied an RBI as he beat out a ground ball, Josh Harrison had another infield single, the Pirates’ fifth of the inning, scoring Overbay.  When all was said and done, the Pirates scored five runs in the frame, all of which were charged to Capuano.

The Buccos added four more runs in the eighth inning on RBI singles from Overbay and Paul, and a pinch-hit sacrifice fly from Garrett Jones.  The Pirates had the lead at that point, 9-2.

Kevin Correia had another solid start for the Pirates, giving up two runs on six hits through his six innings of work.  He won his eighth game of the season, leading the N.L. in wins.  This also marks the 13^th straight game in which a Pirates’ starting pitcher has given up two runs or less.  That is the longest streak for any Pirates’ club since 1968.

The bullpen did well as usual, with the only hiccup being a solo homerun being given up by Daniel McCutchen to Justin Turner in the eighth inning.  Chris Resop, Daniel Moskos, and Jose Ascanio pitched scoreless baseball in their relief efforts. 

Andrew McCutchen made the defensive play of the game, and perhaps the season, in the first inning, robbing Jason Bay of extra bases, making a sliding catch from his back on the warning track. 

After another relatively sluggish start, the offense woke up and tallied a total of 14 hits on the evening.  Cutch led the way with three hits, further boosting his batting average to .256 for the year.  Walker, Diaz, and Overbay each had two-hit evenings; Harrison continued his success at the plate for the second straight night, adding another hit and an RBI to his stat-sheet.

With the victory tonight, the Pirates tallied their 17^th road win of the year, matching the season-total from last year.  The Buccos are now two games under .500 with the series-finale tomorrow afternoon against the Mets before returning home for a three-game weekend set against the Philadelphia Phillies.  Paul Maholm will take the mound for the Pirates.

Record Vs. Mets: 2-1

Record Vs. N.L. East: 4-8

Record On The Road: 17-14

Overall Record: 26-28

Another Strong Start From McDonald Helps Pirates Beat Mets 5-1

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: AP

So far this season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have done much better than expected.  Predicted by most to have a record similar to that of last season, the Buccos have maintained a mark within (and not lower than) five games under .500.  Coming into tonight’s game against the New York Mets, the Pirates were in danger of dropping to 24-29, and a disappointing series in New York could lead to the downfall that is characteristic of most Pirates’ seasons as of late.

The Pirates had a chance to get on the board early tonight off Mets’ starter R.A. Dickey…but after a leadoff double by Jose Tabata, the next three batters were retired, and the Buccos left a runner on base in the first frame.

The Mets also led off the first inning with a double by Angel Pagan.  Unlike the Pirates, however, the Mets were able to bring the run home.  Jason Bay hit a dribbler down the third base line, and beat out James McDonald’s throw to first base, allowing Pagan to score from the third.  The Mets had the early advantage, 1-0. 

The Pirates stranded two more batters in the third inning, after Tabata reached base on a walk and Josh Harrison recorded his first Major League hit, Andrew McCutchen struck out (for the second time in the game) to end the inning.

Ronny Cedeno led off the eighth inning with a single, giving the Pirates their first base runner in five innings.  After a pop up out on a bunt attempt from Dusty Brown, Matt Diaz went down on strikes for the second out of the inning.  Tabata was hit by a pitch, putting two men on base, with two outs, and Harrison approached the plate with a chance to be a hero…and that’s exactly what he was tonight, smacking a base hit to right field and advancing to second base on a horrible throwing decision by Carlos Beltran. 

McCutchen, who had struck out his previous three times at the plate, drew a walk to load the bases for Neil Walker.  Real deal is the nickname we give him here at Fans From The Stands, and that’s exactly what he was at this at-bat, drilling a two-run single up the middle to give the Buccos a 3-1 lead.  This ended the night for Dickey, who pitched a strong game, tallying ten strikeouts in the game, but didn’t have enough to finish the eighth frame, and the Pirates made him pay for it.

The Pirates added to the lead in the ninth inning on a bases-loaded, two-out, two-run single by Brandon Wood, stretching the advantage to 5-1. 

Joel Hanrahan didn’t earn a save tonight, but came in and did exactly what he’s done all year to this point.  The Buccos’ closer took care of the Mets 1-2-3 in the final frame, clinching the 5-1 victory, and evening the series at a game a piece.

This was a huge win for the Pirates.  They overcame an outstanding start by a knuckleball pitcher that they struggled against early.  James McDonald put together another strong effort, giving up only one run on six hits through his six innings of work.  They also got contributions from a number of players, including Josh Harrison, who earned his first hit and RBI, Dusty Brown, who tallied a hit and performed very well behind the plate, and Ronny Cedeno, who continues to creep his average up to a respectable mark.

The Buccos are now just three games under the .500 mark, and enter tomorrow’s game against the Mets just one victory shy of their road-win total from a year ago.  Kevin Correia will get the start, and the first pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm.

Record Vs. Mets: 1-1

Record Vs. N.L. East: 3-8

Record On The Road: 16-14

Overall Record: 25-28

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!