Costly Mistakes in Eighth Inning Send Pirates To 6-4 Defeat

by Zane Heiple

Photo By Getty Images

Tonight was one of those nights for the Pittsburgh Pirates that have become few and far between this year, but nonetheless still painful to watch.  While it may only be July, some of us feel that we can’t take games too seriously this time of year, but this team still needs to put games away against a team with the caliber of play as the Houston Astros.

The Pirates did have some great plays on defense and collected three solo home runs from Neil Walker, Lyle Overbay, and Brandon Wood.  The offense started out slow on the night as they stranded five base runners in the first two innings and while the box score showed eleven hits on the night, seven of those came from Walker and Mike McKenry.

The defense for Pittsburgh seemed sloppy all night.  In the second inning Garrett Jones had trouble getting to a fly ball hit by Jason Michaels, fortunately that did not cause any damage.  The damage did come one batter later when McKendry and Maholm appeared to get a pitch crossed up and the ball went to the back stop, allowing Carlos Lee to score.  McKendry appeared to be in position to catch the ball, and then looked like he could have made a throw to make it interesting at home plate.  McKendry then appeared to have a shot at throwing out Hunter Pence at third base in the eighth inning, but he either lost his grip on the ball or was not comfortable throwing to Brandon Wood as he was running to get in position for the throw.  Pence would then score the tying run on a Brett Wallace fielder's choice.  There was a play at the plate and after watching all the replays, the call could have gone either way.

Paul Maholm, who started for the Buccos, had a below average start from what we are used to seeing from him in 2011.  He would leave the game after only going five innings allowing three runs on nine hits, to go with three strikeouts and one walk.  He left the game with a one run lead and early on it looked like it might hold up, as Daniel McCutchen and Chris Resop set down all three batters they faced.  The problem came in the eighth when Jose Veras came to the mound.  He would walk the leadoff man and it went downhill from there as the Astros put three runs on the board and would win 6-4.

Tonights game was roller coaster with a bad ending.  I am confident that Pittsburgh will play better tomorrow, since they seem to save their worst outings for when Maholm is on the hill.  While it may not be a must win tomorrow, it is an important game.  Kevin Correia is on the hill for the Pirates, while Wandy Rodriguez will pitch for the Astros.  First pitch is scheduled for 2:05.

Record vs. Astros:  8-3
Record vs. N.L. Central:  21-13
Road Record:  25-21
Overall Record:  48-44

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!!!

Old Glory And Jolly Roger Raised In Pirates 5-3 Win Over Astros

by Zane Heiple

Photo by Getty Images

Sloppy Joes may be on some of your 4^th of July cookout menus, and early on it looked like sloppy defense was on the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Today’s game against the Houston Astros didn’t start off great, but great pitching and timely hits allowed the Buccos to go three games over .500 for the first time since 1999 with the 5-3 win.

Paul Maholm once again pitched very well and gave his team the chance to win.  He would go six innings allowing only one earned run on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts.  His counterpart, Brett Myers, gave up fourteen hits, four earned runs, and one strikeout in six innings of work.  For the 25^th time this season, Joel Hanrahan closed out the game and sent Pirates fans home happy.

The errors that occurred today for Pittsburgh all came in the third inning.  One was by Lyle Overbay on a throw to third base.  The other two came from Josh Harrison who had trouble fielding a groundball by Hunter Pence and then three batters later made a throwing error to first.  Harrison would be taken out of the game in the fourth inning because he was complaining of dizziness that occurred after he collided with the catcher in the second inning. 

Pittsburgh tied the game in the second inning when Michael McKenry singled to left field bringing Overbay home.  After Houston went up 3-1 in the third, the Buccos answered in the bottom part of the inning.  It started when Andrew McCutchen doubled home Chase d’Arnaud.  The tying run came around two batters later when Overbay singled home Cutch.

The Pirates took the lead for good in the fifth on a Neil Walker single to right field that brought d’Arnaud home.  Insurance was added in the sixth by the Buccos when Alex Presley tripled home Brandon Wood from second.

The bullpen bridge from Maholm to Hanrahan included scoreless innings of work from Daniel McCutchen and Jose Veras.  D-Cutch picked up his fifth hold of the year, while Veras picked up hold number 17 on the season.  Hanrahan also set a team record for most saves to start a year without blowing one, with 25.  Game two of this series will be tomorrow night at 7:05.

Happy Independence Day to all of our readers, from Fans From The Stands.

Record vs. Astros:  6-1
Record vs. N.L. Central:  17-10
Record at PNC Park:  20-20
Overall Record:  44-41

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!!!

Buccos Complete Sweep Of Stros

by Zane Heiple

Photo by Getty Images

While the Pittsburgh Pirates have had much more success on the road this year than they did in 2010, the one thing that has eluded them is the sweep over their opponents.  The Pirates came into today’s matinee against the Houston Astros with a chance to break out the brooms.

The Buccos wasted little time gaining the lead over the Astros.  After Jose Tabata reached on a single and Andrew McCutchen walked, Garrett Jones blasted a three run home run to right field.  The Astros almost had a run in the third but a relay from Tabata to Ronny Cedeno to Dusty Brown had Hunter Pence out at home.  Houston did however score two in the bottom of the fourth.  They would then tie the game in the fifth when Pence hit a double that scored Michael Bourn.

Pittsburgh’s offense would come back to life in the sixth inning with some help from Bourn.  Jones would hit a fly ball to center field, but Bourn was unable to handle the ball.  This mistake would allow Cutch to score from second.  Josh Harrison then doubled to score Walker from third.  Unfortunately Jones was thrown out at home by Houston second baseman Jeff Keppinger.

James McDonald finished his day with two outs in the sixth inning.  McDonald wasn’t at his best today but it was efficient enough to pick up his fifth win of the year.  He gave up three runs on seven hits, while striking out and walking four.

Joel Hanrahan was given the day off after pitching three straight days.  With a save on the line, Jose Veras was given the task to finish off the Stros.  After a leadoff single by Jason Bourgeois, Bourn would ground out.  Keppinger would single to bring home Bourgeois.  This would be followed by two straight ground outs to Pirates third baseman Brandon Wood to close the game and give the Buccos the sweep and a 5-4 win.

Great to see the Pirates finish off a series in a sweep.  This is the fourth straight game the Buccos have won and will now head to Cleveland for their first road interleague series of the year.

Record vs. Astros:  5-1
Record vs. N.L. Central:  16-10
Record On The Road:  20-15
Overall Record:  35-33

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!!!

No Run Support For Maholm, Pirates Lose To Astros 3-2

By Zane Heiple

Photo Credit: AP

After leaving beautiful San Diego with two wins over the Padres, our Pirates returned to rainy Pittsburgh for a three game set with the Houston Astros.  After a successful 4-2 road trip, fans had much to be excited about as the Buccos were only one game under .500 coming into tonight’s game.  Paul Maholm got the start for Pittsburgh, while Wandy Rodriguez took the mound for Houston.

Maholm pitched well tonight, going seven innings, allowing one run on five hits, while striking out four and walking three.  The only run he gave up tonight occurred during a rocky first inning that included two walks.  Unfortunately for Paul, he once again was unable to get any run support from his offense and the bullpen was not capable of holding a lead.

The Pirates tied the game in the fifth inning when Brandon Wood doubled to left field, scoring Lyle Overbay.  Neil Walker gave Pittsburgh the lead in the seventh with a  solo homerun, his fourth of the year.  With a one run lead, the Bucco bullpen was given the task of holding on to the win for Maholm and the Pirates.

Chris Resop came in and was shaky from the get-go.  He walked the first batter Michael Bourn, who then stole second base to put himself in scoring position.  The very next batter, Hunter Pence, doubled to tie the game.  This ended Resop’s night and brought Jose Veras out of the bullpen.  Veras didn’t do much better, as the first batter he faced doubled home Pence to give the Astros their final run of the night and the nail in coffin as Houston went on to win 3-2.

With six outs left to score one run to tie the game, the Pirates sent seven men to the plate and only got a single out of that.  Tonight was a frustrating loss.  Lack of offense and bad bullpen support doomed Pittsburgh tonight.  We also saw Houston take advantage of the Pirates’ inability to throw out base runners, as the Astros tallied three stolen bases.  The only good thing was that Maholm was not shelled with another loss in a game that he clearly did enough to win.

Pittsburgh will try to get their winning ways at home started tomorrow as Charlie Morton will start for the Pirates.  Be sure to check out Fans From The Stands for pre and post game videos along with a post-game wrap up.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:05.

Record Vs. Astros: 0-1

Record Vs. N.L. Central: 7-6

Record At Home: 4-9

Overall Record: 15-17

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!