Pirates Complete Two Game Sweep Of Reds With 5-3 Victory

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

For the second game in as many days, the Pittsburgh Pirates got an outstanding performance from their starting pitcher and a series of timely hits as they completed a two game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 5-3 victory this afternoon at Great American Ballpark.

James McDonald had the difficult task of following up the shutdown performance from Charlie Morton last night, and he was certainly up to the challenge.  McDonald gave up only one run on seven hits through 6.2 innings, and he held the high-powered Reds’ offense in check throughout the afternoon.  His only blemish on the day came in the second inning, giving up a solo homerun to Jay Bruce.  That would be the only run charged to him on the day.

The Pirates’ offense was limited until the fifth inning.  With two no outs and no runners on base, Andrew McCutchen hammered a double, and would score as the next batter, Xavier Paul, slapped an RBI single to shallow right center.  After Garrett Jones drew a walk, Neil Walker crushed a double to deep center, scoring Paul and Jones.  When all was said and done in the fifth, the Pirates had a 3-1 lead.

Ryan Doumit added to the lead in the sixth inning with a solo homerun to left field, and Cutch added another run to the board with an RBI double in the eighth, scoring Pedro Alvarez.

The Reds made things slightly more interesting over the course of the last two innings of the game.  Joey Votto singled to shallow center in the eighth, scoring Chris Heisey.  Bruce hit his second homerun of the game in the ninth inning, bringing the Reds within two runs.

That is as close as they would get, though, as Joel Hanrahan would record the final out of the game, earning his 12^th save of the season.

So after losing six straight games, the Pirates have rebounded and won two straight games.  There are a couple of reasons why this series against the Reds was so significant.  First and foremost, it stops the losing streak.  Over the years, we, Pirates' fans, are well aware of the one LONG losing streak that buries the team at some point throughout the season. 

Secondly, it was important to get back on the winning track on the road.  The Buccos are now 13-12 on the road, which is only four wins away from equaling last year’s total.  And it never hurts to take two from a divisional opponent, especially the division leader who has an offense that is perhaps tops in the league.

Charlie Morton and James McDonald were the story of this series against the Reds.  In the two games this week, the Buccos’ pitching staff gave up a total of three runs to a top-notch offensive powerhouse. 

The Pirates will hope to continue their winning ways this weekend as they welcome the Detroit Tigers to PNC Park for a three-game interleague series. 

Record Vs. Reds: 5-1

Record Vs. N.L. Central: 11-9

Record On The Road: 13-12

Overall Record: 20-23

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!

Offense Explodes For Nine More Runs, Pirates Take Three Of Four From Reds

By Zane Heiple

Photo Credit: AP

The Pittsburgh Pirates won their seventh road game and third road series of the year when they defeated the Cincinnati Reds by the final score of 9-3 on Monday night.

Kevin Correia pitched a great game, going nin innings, allowing two earned runs on fourt hits, while striking out five and walking two.  This was the second time this series that a Pirates’ starter went the distance, after Charlie Morton on Friday night. 

Correia’s only mistake of the night came in the ninth when he gave up a two-run home run to Chris Heisey.  The other run of the night occurred when Steve Pearce made a throwing error to first base, which allowed Scott Rolen to score from third.

The Pirates’ offense struck early for the second game in a row.  Jose Tabata scored on a Neil Walker single.  Pearce singled home Matt Diaz, which was followed up by Chris Snyder singling home Walker. The Buccos held a 3-0 lead before the Reds even came to bat.

Pittsburgh then scored five runs in the fourth inning to seal the game.  Andrew McCutchen doubled home Snyder and Ronny Cedeno to give the Pirates a 5-1 lead.  Diaz and Pearce singled home runs before Lyle Overbay doubled home the final run of the inning.  The Bucco bats added another run in the fifth when Diaz was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

This was an interesting series for the Pirates.  The dominated two games, won a nail biter, and got killed on Saturday.  What we can take away from this may be obvious, but when the Pirates receive great pitching, defense, and offense, they can compete with any team in the Majors.  If one of these aspects falters, then they are in for a dogfight, and I’m sure if you have followed the team the past 18 years, you know what happens when two of the three aspects forget to leave the locker room.

The Pirates will head to Miami for a three-game set with the Florida Marlins.  I think it’s safe to consider the Marlins an equal foe for the Buccos, so this should be a good series.  Paul Maholm will get the start in game one with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10pm.

Record Vs. Reds: 3-1

Record Vs. N.L. Central: 7-5

Record On The Road: 7-3

Overall Record: 8-8

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!

McCutchen Delivers Game-Winner As Bucs Win Wild One Over Reds

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: AP

In one of the most exciting games in this young season, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-6, in a wild contest today in the third of their four-game series.  Spot-starter Jeff Karstens was given the ball by Clint Hurdle for the Buccos as the Reds sent Edinson Volquez to the mound.

The Pirates got off to a very fast start today, as Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata led off the ballgame with back-to-back solo homeruns.  After Chris Snyder drew a bases-loaded walk, Ronny Cedeno smacked a sacrifice fly, only feet away from out of the park, scoring Neil Walker.  The Buccos occupied an early 4-0 lead.

As good teams always do, the Reds made their comeback in a series of innings.  After tallying a run in the second and fourth innings, they delivered a big blow to Karstens and the Pirates in the fifth frame.  After Miguel Cairo’s solo homerun to bring them within a run, Scott Rolen doubled to shallow left, scoring Joey Votto.  Jay Bruce then singled to right, scoring Rolen and giving the Reds their first lead of the game at 5-4.

The Pirates responded the very next inning with a solo shot by Garrett Jones to deep left and an RBI-double by John Bowker, as the Buccos re-took the lead. 

That was answered an inning later by the Reds, when Bruce hammered a solo homerun to deep center field, tying the game, 6-6.  Bruce has had a strong series against the Buccos, including today’s 4-5 performance with two RBI.

The Pirates proved to have the last knockout punch this afternoon, and it came from the bat of McCutchen.  With two runners on in the eighth, the Buccos’ centerfielder singled to shallow center, allowing Snyder to cross home plate, giving the Pirates a 7-6, which would be the final.  Cutch ended his day 3-3 with a homerun and two RBI, while also forcing two walks.  After a troublesome game Friday night, he has rebounded as we all hoped and expected he would, and after dipping below the .200 mark, his average has climbed substantially to .250.

From a pitching standpoint, the Pirates certainly didn’t shut the Reds’ offense down, but they did enough to keep the team in the game and they gave the offense a chance to win.  Karstens pitched 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and just one walk.  His mound opponent, Volquez, went a little deeper, allowing six runs on five hits with an alarming six walks through 5.2 innings.  Both pitchers earned a no-decision today.

The bullpen for the Buccos was strong today.  Other than Jose Veras giving up a run in the fifth, the relievers pitched shutout ball.  Strong performances from Daniel McCutchen, Chris Resop, and Evan Meek set the stage perfectly for Joel Hanrahan to come in and earn his fifth save of the season.  Resop earned the victory today, while Logan Ondrusek was tagged with the loss for the Reds.

This was a HUGE victory for the Pirates for a couple of reasons.  I think we learned a lot about the coaching staff, led by Clint Hurdle of course, by the way the team responded to the abysmal performance in yesterday’s game.  A day after they lost a game by nine runs, they came out and scored four runs of their own in the very first inning.  That speaks to the coaching and the leadership of the club, two extremely important factors to any successfully competitive team. 

Secondly, today’s victory guarantees the Pirates will earn at least a split from the Reds.  With the firepower offense the Reds have and how much trouble the Pirates have had in years past playing in Cincinnati, this was a huge series for them from a confidence standpoint.  They have put themselves in a great position to potentially win another series on the road this season against an N.L. Central opponent.

Kevin Correia will take to the mound tomorrow evening for the Pirates in the final game of the wrap-around series at Great American Ballpark.  Travis Wood will get the start for the Reds.  Hopefully the Pirates can come out strong once again and earn a series-victory in Cincinnati before heading south to take on the Marlins.

Record Vs. Reds: 2-1

Record Vs. N.L. Central: 6-5

Record On The Road: 6-3

Overall Record: 7-8

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!

McDonald Roughed Up, Reds Rout Pirates

By Zane Heiple

Photo Credit: AP

The Cincinnati Reds were out for revenge Saturday afternoon, and revenge is what they got.  Cincinnati hit four home runs that accounted for nine runs on their way to an 11-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.  James McDonald had another rough outing, going only 4.1 innings, allowing six earned runs on nine hits, while walking and striking out two batters.  His record is now 0-1 and is sporting a 7.47 ERA.

Pittsburgh scored their only two runs of the game in the fourth inning.  With the bases loaded, the Reds’ Mike Leake walked Garrett Jones, allowing Neil Walker to score from third.  Ronny Cedeno tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Pedro Alvarez.

The Reds put the game away in the fifth when they scored seven runs.  An Alvarez fielding error started the inning, allowing Miguel Cairo to reach first.  With one out and runners on second and third, McDonald intentionally walked Jay Bruce to give the Buccos a chance at a double play. 

Unfortunately, this would not come to fruition.  Juan Francisco singled, allowing, Cairo to score.  This led to a Ramon Hernandez grand slam, putting a nail in the coffin on McDonald’s day and any chance at a Pirates’ win.  With two outs and a runner on, Drew Stubbs smacked the third Reds’ homer of the day to make it a 9-2 lead.

The Red Legs added two more in the sixth inning when Jonny Gomes hit his second homer of the day, a two run shot off of the recently called up Joe Beimel, to make it an 11-2 game.

Overall, this was an awful game for the Buccos.  We know that this team will have days like this throughout the season, especially when facing a contender like the Reds.  The key now is for the Pirates to forget about it and come back tomorrow with a clean slate.  They cannot let one game turn into a five game slide like we have seen in the past.  These two teams will face off in game three of this four game series tomorrow at 1:10pm.  Jeff Karstens will make his first start of the season filling in for the injured Ross “The Boss” Ohlendorf.

Record Vs. Reds: 1-1

Record Vs. N.L. Central: 5-5

Record On The Road: 5-3

Overall Record: 6-8

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!

Morton Pitches Another Strong Game, Pirates Start Road Trip With Victory

By Chad Carlson

Photo Credit: AP

After a pathetically horrid home stand, the Pittsburgh Pirates were back in action tonight against the Cincinnati Reds for the first of a four-game set at Great American Ballpark.  Charlie Morton took to the hill for the Buccos, while Bronson Arroyo made the start for the Reds, who came into the series sporting an 8-4 record.

In an effort to ignite the offense, manager Clint Hurdle changed up the lineup slightly this evening.  Andrew McCutchen moved up to the leadoff spot, Jose Tabata moved to the second, Lyle Overbay to the third, and Neil Walker into the cleanup position.  With the exception of Tabata, the Pirates don’t have a regular starter with a batting average over .300. 

The Pirates jumped out to the early lead in the second inning on Garrett Jones’ solo homerun to deep right, giving the Buccos a 1-0 advantage.

The Buccos went back to work on Arroyo in the third inning as well.  Overbay singled to start, and advanced to third base on Pedro Alvarez’s double.  After Jones was intentionally walked, Chris Snyder singled to left, scoring Overbay and giving the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

Pittsburgh’s onslaught continued the very next inning against Arroyo.  With two outs in the fourth inning, Tabata doubled for his second hit of the night, and scored when Overbay singled him home.  The very next batter, Walked hammered a two-run homerun to deep right, and the Buccos had a commanding 5-0 advantage.

Arroyo lasted only four innings, giving up five runs on nine hits, inflating his ERA to 4.24.  Matt Maloney relieved him in the fifth, and pitched four shutout innings for the Reds, keeping the game somewhat close.

The Pirates added another run in the ninth, as Snyder singled off Logan Ondrusek for his third hit of the game, scoring Walker from third.

For the Pirates, Charlie Morton pitched a gem of a game.  His Spring Training success certainly appears to be carrying over to regular season action.  Chuck threw a complete game, only giving up one run (coming off a ninth inning homerun by Jay Bruce) on five hits and issuing two walks, lowering his already-stingy ERA to 1.64.

This was a huge game for the Pirates.  After a terrible home stand, there was the fear that the club would fall into a long losing skid that has become characteristic of Pirates’ seasons in the past.   Charlie Morton pitched an incredible game, shutting down a potentially hazardous Reds’ lineup.  We’ve been hearing for a number of years about how great Morton’s stuff is, but the results just weren’t there.  Well so far in 2011, the results are here…and they’re impressive.

From an offensive standpoint, there was definitely improvement tonight.  While they didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard, the Pirates got contributions from just about everyone in the lineup.  Tabata led the way with four hits, raising his average to .354, while Garrett Jones had a pair of hits, including the homerun in the second inning.  Overbay also had two knocks, while Walker had the big two-run blast in the fourth inning, effectively breaking the game open.  That was more than enough for Morton.

The Pirates will look to build on tonight’s game as they take on the Reds tomorrow afternoon for the second game of the series.  The Buccos will send James McDonald to the mound to face Cincinnati’s Edinson Volquez.

Record Vs. Reds: 1-0

Record Vs. N.L. Central: 5-4

Record On The Road: 5-2

Overall Record: 6-7

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!