The Pittsburgh Pirates won a wild game on the road in Cincinnati as they beat the Reds 6-5 on Tuesday evening.  The Pirates and Reds played 11 innings and it came down to the final out before anyone could actually breath.  It was a back and forth game the entire game and the Pirates were lucky to come out on top if you ask me.

Jack Wilson and Nate McLouth delived rbi’s in the top of the 11th inning for the Pirates.  Wilson had a rbi triple while McLouth had a rbi single for what would be the game winning run.  Adam LaRoche, Doug Mientkiewicz, Jason Michaels, and Jose Bautista all had one rbi in the game to go along with Wilson’s and McLouth’s rbi’s.  Offense came through when they needed to and they were the mvp of this game.

Pirates starting pitcher Zach Duke tossed five innings and gave up six hits and one run to get the no decision.  Duke pitched pretty good but only lasted five innings.  Denny Bautista, John Grabow, and Tyler Yates all pitched in relief before Damaso Marte gave up two runs in the eighth inning.  Matt Capps gave up one run even though he picked up the win in the game to improve his record to 2-3.  Romulo Sanchez got his first save of the season as he pitched the bottom of the 11th inning.  Sanchez didn’t make it easy on himself however as he did give up one run in the inning.

In the end it was the Pirates coming out on top which is always good to see.  Now can they win the rubber match on Wednesday?  Pirates Blog

Talk about a big time blow out loss for the Pittsburgh Pirates as they were beat Tuesday evening 16-5 by the Chicago White Sox.  All four Pirates pitchers in the game gave up atleast one run while three of them gave up aleast three or more runs!  Four home runs by the White Sox sure didn’t help either.

Starting pitcher Ian Snell dropped to 3-7 on the season as he took the loss for the Pirates.  Snell pitched four innings and gave up nine hits, seven runs, and walked six batters.  Now that is a terrible job by the starting pitcher!

Franquelis Osoria came in and pitched two innings while giving up four hits and three runs including a home run.  Marino Salas had a terrible outing after Osoria left the game as he only recorded two outs and gave up two home runs and five runs.  Sean Burnett wanted his turn and got it as he pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up one run.  Terrible outing by all four Pirates pitchers.

Jason Michaels led the Pirates at the plate with two rbi.  Both runs scored in the second inning when he had a two run double.  Jose Bautista hit a solo home run to account for his rbi while Nate McLouth and Doug Mientkiewicz also had one rbi each in the game.

I wouldn’t expect another blow out that bad on Wednesday when the two teams face off again.  Atleast I hope it is a little bit closer lol.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates got in the head of Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Randy Johnson and the Pirates went on to defeat the Diamondbacks by the score of 5-3.  Doug Mientkiewicz slowly got into the batters box very slowly against Johnson and that really upset the ”Big Unit”.  Johnson started walking towards home plate as both benches emptied but nothing came of the altercation except Johnson being upset.

With the Big Unit upset, the Pirates took full advantage of his wildness on the mound.  Taking three walks five walks and error by Johnson they were able to score some runs and win for the second game in a row.

Luis Rivas had two rbi for the Pirates while Jack Wilson, Xavier Nady, and Jose Bautista all had one rbi in the game.  Good job by the offense putting up five runs in the game.

On the mound it was Zach Duke throwing six inning and picking up the win as he improved to 4-4 on the season.  Duke only allowed five hits and two runs in the game as he had a pretty good outing against a good Diamondbacks offense.

Damaso Marte gave up one run in relief but then Tyler Yates and Matt Capps finished things up.  Capps recorded his 15th save of the season as well.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves split a day double header on Monday as the Pirats won the first game 5-0 and then lost the second game 8-1.  The Pirates were outhit in both games, the only difference was starting pitching in the first game was good unlike in the second game.

Zach Duke tossed six innings of five hit ball in the first game to pick up the win.  With the victory Duke is now 2-2 on the season.  Damaso Marte pitched two innings while Sean Burnett pitched one inning to complete the shutout of the Braves.

Freddy Sanchez had a bases loaded double in the fifth inning that got he Pirates on the board and provided all the runs they would end up needed to win.  Adam LaRoche connected on a two run home run in the eighth inning to provide two insurance runs for the Pirates.

Game two was a totally different story for the Pirates however.  They were limited to only five hits once again, but none of the hits were with runners in scoring position etc so they only put one run up on the board.

The only run for the Pirates came in the first inning when Ryan Doumit was safe at first on a error and Doug Mientkiewicz scored.

John Van Benschoten took the loss for the Pirates as he got rocked for nine hits and seven runs in only four innings of action.  Franquelis Osoria pitched the next four innings and gave up one run.

After the double header, the Pirates are now 18-20 on the season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a hard 13-6 loss against the Cubs in Chicago on Sunday putting the Pirates at 7-11 for the year.  The Pirates were pretty much dominated the entire series besides the game on Friday.  The Cubs have now beaten the Pirates all six games so far in 2008.

Zach Duke took the loss for the Pirates on Sunday.  He stood the mound for four innings and gave up right hits and five runs in that small amount of time.  The Pirates brought in Franquelis Osoria, Damaso Marte, and Phil Dumatrait to try and hold the Cubs back but between the three of them they gave up a combined 10 hits and eight more runs.

Ryan Doumit hit two home runs giving him four for the year.  Doug Mientkiewicz, Nate McLouth, Freddy Sanchez, Ryan Doumit, and Ronny Paulino all drove in a RBI as well. 

The Pirates now welcome the Marlins to Pittsburgh for a 2 game series starting on Monday night.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates front office and management sure have been busy the past few days has they have made quite a few roster changes.  Releasing players, signing players, and buying out contracts, the Pirates have been doing it all in the last 24-48 hours.

Juan Perez and Jaret Wright have been released by the Pirates.

Josh Wilson was designated for assignment while Jorge Valendia was sent to minor league camp.

Pirates purchased the contract of infielder Doug Mientkiewicz from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Byung-Hyun Kim’s contract was bought out for $300,000.

The Pirates and Braves have worked out a trade that will send Todd Redmond to the Braves in exchange for Tyler Yates.