Astros Avoid Sweep With 8-2 Victory Over Pirates

by Zane Heiple

Photo by Getty Images

A lot as gone right for the Pittsburgh Pirates of late, but tonight against the Houston Astros in one inning everything went wrong.  Charlie Morton was cruising again tonight for the Pirates until the sixth inning when a pair of errors, a bad defensive decision, and some timely hitting dug the Buccos in a hole that they could not climb out of.

Pittsburgh actually jumped out on top early in the first inning, when Andrew McCutchen singled home Alex Presley.  Neil Walker then flew out to Carlos Lee in left field and then doubled off Garrett Jones, who made a bad read on the ball, at second base.  After that both teams were held scoreless until the Stros piled on in the sixth.

It all started on a fielding error by Chase d’ Arnaud on a groundball by Michael Bourn.  Angel Sanchez would then have an RBI double and advance to third on an error by McCutchen.  Carlos Lee would then triple when Cutch dove for a ball and missed, allowing the ball to roll to the centerfield wall.   Lee would score on a Jeff Keppinger double.  Two batters later, Keppinger would come around to touch home plate on a single by Clint Barmes.  Morton would exit the game after facing Barmes.  After five decent innings, he could not go any longer after poor execution by his defense.  His final stat line read 5.1 innings pitched, allowing four runs on eight hits, with one walk and six strikeouts.

The Pirates would add a run in the bottom part of the inning when McCutchen would ground out to third, allowing d’Arnaud to score.  While this closed the gap to 5-2, three runs would be all the closer our Battlin’ Buccos would get on the night.  Houston starter Bud Norris pitched very well to help his team salvage a game in this series.  He would go seven innings allowing two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

Even the bullpen had a rough night.  After Chris Leroux pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, Daniel McCutchen was touched for two runs on three hits in the ninth, and Daniel Moskos would give up one more run before getting the final out.  The Bucco bats went 1-2-3 in the bottom part of the ninth to give Houston an 8-2 victory.

This game had some flashbacks to 2010 in my opinion, one bad inning leading to a blowout victory.  The offense never seemed to be really into the game after the first inning and there seemed to be a lot of mental mistakes in the field and on the base paths.  The best thing to remember is that it is a long season and games will be lost.  On a plus note, this was the 17^th series that the team had won on the year.  The Pirates will have tomorrow off before welcoming the Chicago Cubs to town to begin a three game series.  James McDonald will start for the Buccos, while the North Siders will send Rodrigo Lopez to the bump.  First pitch is schedule for 7:05.

Record vs. Astros:  7-2
Record vs. N.L. Central:  18-11
Home Record:  21-21
Overall Record:  45-42

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!!!

Karstens, Bullpen Shutout Astros

by Zane Heiple

Photo by AP

After a 6-4 home stand, the Pittsburgh Pirates headed to Texas for a three game series with their division rivals the Houston Astros.  While the Astros have the worst record in baseball, Minute Maid Park was not kind to the Buccos in 2010, where they posted a 0-9 record.  Jeff Karstens would be given the task of getting their 2011 campaign in Houston off to a winning start, while Bud Norris would counter for the Stros. 

Garrett Jones got the Pirates on the board with no outs in the second inning, when he hit a single to right field that scored Neil Walker. 

That would be the only run of support Karstens would receive in his 6.2 innings pitched tonight.  He would strikeout three, while only giving up three hits.  Chris Resop would come out of the bullpen and strike out the only batter he would face to close out the seventh.  The Astros also had a strong outing from their starter.  Norris would finish his day pitching seven innings allowing one run on six hits, while striking out nine and walking two. 

The Pirates would use three pitchers in the eighth inning to collect the three needed outs.  After walking a batter to put runners on first and second with one out, Jose Veras would be able to get Jason Michaels and Michael Bourn to fly out to end the threat.  The Houston bullpen would shutdown Pittsburgh’s offense as they would not give up a hit in two innings of work.

A 1-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth set the stage for Joel Hanrahan to close out the game.  He would collect his 18^th save of the year by getting the first two batters to ground out and then Ronny Cedeno made a diving catch to finish of the win for the Buccos.

Another great night by the pitching staff led the Pirates to victory.  Hanrahan collected his 18^th save tonight, the Buccos surpassed their 2010 road wins total tonight with their 18^th road win for this season, and Pittsburgh once again is at the .500 mark.  Hopefully Pittsburgh can get over the .500 mark and stay there starting tomorrow when these two teams battle again at 8:05.  Charlie Morton will take the ball to the hill tomorrow for the Pirates.

Record vs. Astros:  3-1
Record vs. N.L. Central:  14-10
Record on the Road:  18-15
Overall Record:  33-33

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!