The Pittsburgh Pirates were up on the Cincinnati Reds heading into the eighth inning but the Reds scored three times in the bottom of the inning and went on to win 8-6. The Pirates were going for the three game sweep against the Reds, but I’ll take two out of three games that is for sure.

The losing pitcher of the game was Craig Hansen who fell to 0-3 on the year. Hansen was charged with all three runs that the Reds scored in the bottom of the eighth inning. Starting pitcher Tom Gorzelanny gave up seven hits and three runs in just 3 2/3 innings to get the no decision. Jason Davis and Jesse Chavez both gave up one run in relief as well.

Chris Gomez and Steve Pearce finished the game with two rbi each. Nate McLouth also added a solo home run for the Pirates. Andy LaRoche also added a rbi in the first inning. It was a good showing for the Pirates offense on the day as they put up six runs.

It’s just too bad that the bullpen wasn’t able to hold the lead. They will try again on Friday when the Pirates begin a series with the San Francisco Giants.

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Zach Duke’s continues to struggle on the pitching mound as he gave up two runs on seven hits and the Pirates lost to the Cubs 2-0. Duke struckout six batters while walking two but in the end he still took the loss because there was not any run support for him. One of these games he will get that fifth win of the season I hope.

In the seventh inning, Duke allowed a run on groundout to third base. As I watched the game, I thought that Andy LaRoche could have went home with the ball but it would have been a bang-bang play and he elected to just get the out at first. The next pitch seen the Cubs put down a suicide squeeze bunt that worked. The Pirates were just a few feet away from catching the ball and would have turned a double play to get out of the inning but instead they allowed the run to score.

The offense had five hits in the game but were never able to get a hit with runners in scoring position. They struckout 13 times and left 16 runners on base.

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Wow, this sure isn’t fun blogging about the Pirates the way they have been playing lately. The Pirates were beaten badly by the Chicago Cubs on Monday night by the score of 12-3 as the Cubs took the first game of a three game series.

The Cubs jumped all over Pirates starting pitcher Jeff Karstens as he only lasted three innings. Karstens was charged with six hits and five runs including one home run. The home run was a three run shot by Aramis Ramirez in the third inning. The Pirates bullpen wasn’t any better however as Jason Davis gave up five hits and five runs in two innings. Sean Burnett also gave up four hits and one run.

At the plate for the Pirates they only scored three runs while striking out eight times. Adam LaRoche had a two run home run off of Ted Lilly and Brandon Moss had a solo home run off Lilly. That was all the offense for the Pirates.

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Starting pitcher Jason Davis was rocked on Wednesday night as the St. Louis Cardinals put a butt kicking on the Pirates. Davis didn’t last long in the game as he gave up nine hits and eight runs in only 3 2/3 innings. The Pirates were going for the short two game sweep but the Cardinals sure had other ideas.

Besides Davis giving up eight runs, Craig Hansen was charged with three hits and three runs over two innigs of action. Romulo Sanchez was the only Pirates pitcher to throw that did not allow a run to score.

At the plate, it was only two runs for the Pirates offense and they both came in the third inning. Ryan Doumit homered as Nyjer Morgan scored on the long blast. It was Doumit’s 13th home run of the season.

The Pirates will now be off on Thursday and then start up a series with the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates ended the New York Mets six game winning streak on Monday afternoon with a 5-2 victory. With the win, the Pirates also ended their four game losing streak.

Steve Pearce broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning when he singled in the go-ahead run to put the Pirates up 3-2. Jack Wilson then added a two run double to make the score 5-2 in the eighth. Adam LaRoche hit his 16th homerun of the season when he went deep in the sixth inning.

Sean Burnett recorded one out and picked up the victory to improve to 1-1. John Grabow notched his fourth save of the season when he finished off the Mets in the ninth. Pirates starting pitcher, Paul Maholm gave up five hits and two runs over seven inning of action. Maholm got a no decision for his efforts.

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Pirates starting pitcher Ian Snell fell to a dissappointing 4-10 on the year as the Pirates lost to the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night by the score of 3-1. The Reds used six dfferent pitchers as they shut down the Pirates offense. The Pirates could only score one run in the game and that came in the first inning on a rbi single by Andy LaRoche.

Snell tossed six innings and gave up six hits and two runs. Five walks really hurt Snell and if he wouldn’t have walked so many batters probably would have stayed in the game longer. No matter what though, it is hard to win a game when your offense only scores one run in the game.

The Pirates can’t give up even though they are out of the playoff race like in most years. They just have to keep on going out there and play ard and the fans need to stay behind the players. Voice your opinion to the management and not the players.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates were down 4-0 but then came back to beat the visiting Colorado Rockies by the score of 6-4.  The Pirates held the Rockies scoreless the final six innings of the game and that is what allowed them to keep chipping away and come away with the victory.

Luis Rivas was the big man at the plate for the Pirates as he finished 3-4 with three rbi.  The Pirates also got rbi from Jason Bay and Chris Gomez in the game.  It was great to see the offense as they just kept the pressure on the Rockies as the game went on.  This just might give the team more confidence at the plate and hopefully some more runs on the scoreboard in the future.

Pirates starting pitcher Yoslan Herrera lasted five innings as he gave up all four runs to the Rockies.  Herrera came away with a no decision in the game.  Jason Davis earned his first victory of the season and is now 1-0.  Tyler Yates tossed the ninth inning and came away with his first save of the season as well.

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The story of the night was Yoslan Herrera, pitching 6 innings of shutout baseball. Although his fastball never clocked above 90mph he was able to keep the ball down, change speeds and throw his breaking ball for strikes. Yoslan showed his ability to pitch, rather than throw by effectively using a fastball and curve. His fastball, having a nice late sinking action, induced a good number of groundouts, while he was throwing an “11-5” curveball for strikes early in the count and out of the zone as an out pitch.

The most productive outfield in baseball continued to impress, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, and Nate McLouth all homered , Bay and Nady collected theirs together when they went back to back in the fourth for an early 4 run lead. Nate McLouth added his 2-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to cap the scoring at 9. Doug Mientkiewicz, Freddy Sanchez, and Ryan Doumit also chipped in 2 hits apiece with Doumit doubling in a run in the first. Overall it was a very consistent offensive output.

The Bullpen did a great job of closing out Yoslan Herrera’s first major league win, Denny Bautista came in in the seventh to strike out the side, Sean Burnett closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth striking out 2. Overall Bautista and Burnett combined for 3 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits and striking out 5 without walking a batter.

Streaks: Xavier Nady continued his hot hitting bringing his hit streak to 13 games, Freddy Sanchez pushed his multi-hit streak to 4 games, while the offense scored 8 or more runs for the fourth straight game as well.

The Pirates continued their offensive onslaught today, winning 8-7 in Houston. The Pirates scored 8 or more runs for the third consecutive game while completing their first road sweep of the year. Even though today was a third straight Pirate win, Ian Snell is missing and someone else is throwing in his place. Pirate fans cannot help but wonder where we would be this season if Snell and Gorzelanny had continued the success that they had last year.

The Pirates opened in the first frame with a 4 spot thanks to a 2-run home run by Bay, his second in 3 days. Ian Snell kicked in an RBI single as well and things looked very promising for another runaway win for the Bucs. Unfortunately, Snell gave 3 runs right back in the bottom of the first, all starting with a walk of the leadoff batter.

The Pirates continued to score, getting a run in the second inning and the third, but the Astros kept pace with runs of their own in the second, third and the run in the fourth tied the score at 6. Ian Snell lasted only 3 innings, giving up 5 runs on 6 hits, walking 3, and striking out 6, while the bullpen consisting of Beam, Osoria, Yates and Grabow gave up only 2 runs over the next 5 innings. Marte, in his new role picked up his fifth save of the year.

The real star of the night was Doug Mientkiewicz, going 4 for 4 with a double and 2 runs batted in, while playing solid defense at third base. The rest of the offensive was provided by LaRoche, Nady, and Sanchez, who all had 2 hits apiece. The 2 hits for Sanchez gave him his third multi-hit game in a row, giving a small indication that adjustments he has made after the break is beginning to pay off.

Once again the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Houston Astros.  This time it was by the score of 8-2 on Tuesday evening as the Pirates went up 2-0 in the three game series.  The Pirates will now be going for the sweep on Wednesday.

Freddy Sanchez had a solo home run in the first inning to get the Pirates on the scoreboard.  Little man Nate McLouth then added a solo shot in the third inning and then Ryan Doumit went deep for a two run shot in the seven inning as the Pirates extended their lead.  Doumit finished the game with three rbi while Sanchez had two rbi.  Jason Bay and McLouth both contributed with one bri each.

Paul Maholm pitched a very good game as he went eight inning to pick up the win and improve his record to 7-6.  Maholm allowed five hits but only one run through his eight innings of action.  Sean Burnett tossed the ninth inning and gave up one hit and one run but it really didn’t matter as they Pirates had a big lead.

So how do you like the Pirates chances at a sweep on Wednesday?  Leave us a comment and let us know!

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