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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The Pittsburgh Pirates erupted for seven runs in the top of the 9th inning and went on to beat the Houston Astros by the score of 9-3 on Monday night.  The Pirates went into the 9th inning trailing 3-2 but they were able to jump all over Astros closer Jose Valverde and knock him out of the game and take the lead and eventually win the game by six runs.

Jason Bay got things started with a solo home run in the 9th inning and then Adam LaRoche followed up with a two run shot to give the Pirates the lead.  Jack Wilson tacked on a two run single while Freddy Sanchez had a three run inside-the-park home run to score the final three runs of the game.

Sanchez led the team with four total rbi.  Bay and LaRoche both had two rbi while Wilson had one rbi to help out.  The offense was lucky to get going against Valverde and it was a huge win on the road for the team.

Tyler Yates who pitched the bottom of the eighth inning recorded the win and is now 4-3 on the year.  John Van Benschoten pitched the first five innings of the game and gave up six hits and and allowed the runs to score.  The Pirates pitching staff got lucky as the Astros left 30 runners on base and really should have scored more then three runs.  Oh well, the Pirates will take any breaks they can get!

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The Pittsburgh Pirates were beat by the Chicago White Sox 13-8 on Thursday afternoon.  With the six run loss, the Pirates were swept in the three game series with the White Sox.  That was definaly not the way the Pirates had hoped for things to go in Chicago.  I think the Pirates had better just stay away from Chicago for the rest of the year as they just can’t beat the White Sox or the Cubs it seems.

Phil Dumatrait was rocked for eleven hits and nine runs in only five innings of action as he put the Pirates in a deep hole right away in the game.  Dumatrait is now 3-4 on the season after taking the loss.  Anytime your starting pitcher gives up nine runs that early in the game, it takes all the momentum out of the rest of the players.  Just a bad deal all around.

John Grabow did about just as nice of a job as Dumatrait did as he gave up three hits and four runs in only one inning of action.  Finally the scoring stopped for the White Sox as Damaso Marte and Sean Burnett pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth innings.

Freddy Sanchez had a two run home run and three rbi to lead the Pirates at the plate.  Lead off man Nate McLouth also had three rbi in the game as he had a bases clearing triple in the second inning.  Jason Bay had a rbi infield single in the ninth inning which was the final run for the Pirates in the game.

So there you have it, just like we had blogged about after last nights game.  We figured the Pirates would lose and that is exactly what happened.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates were able to come away with a 3-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night.  The Pirates scored single runs in the first, fifth, and seventh innings of the games and then held off the Nationals late in the game.

Ian Snell picked up his third win of the season and is now 3-6.  Snell threw six innings while giving up six hits and one run.  Snell struckout six batters and walked three in his six innings of action.  Damaso Marte, Tyler Yates, and Matt Capps all threw one inning of scoreless relief after Snell left the game.  Capps earned his 16th save of the season in the game.

Jason Bay got the scoring started for the Pirates in the first inning when he doubled and scored Nate McLouth.  Onto the fifth inning where Ryan Doumit hit a solo home run for the Pirates second run.  In the seventh inning it was Xavier Nady who singled to right field to score Freddy Sanchez.

Good win for the Pirates who will go for the series win on Thursday against the Nationals.  What do you think Pirates fans?  Do they get the series win?

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The Pittsburgh Pirates had no problems on Thursday night as they defeated the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 7-1.  The Pirates had good innings in the third, fourth, and fifth innings as they scored six of the the runs in the middle of the game.

Xavier Nady and Jason Bay both hit home runs for the Pirates.  Nady a solo shot in the fifth inning, and Bay a two run shot in the fourth inning.  Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson, and Jason Michaels all had one rbi in the game for the Pirates.  Everyone did a pretty good job keeping the pressure on the Reds pitching staff.

Phil Dumatrait pitched seven innings and only allowed two hits and one run as he picked up the win.  Dumatrait is now on the season.  John Grabow pitched a scoreless ninth before Matt Capps pitched the ninth inning. Capps did give up a solo home run to Brandon Phillips in the ninth inning.

In the end it was a good productive win for the Pirates as the improved their record to 25-28.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates were out hit by the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night, but on the part on the scoreboard that mattered the Pirates were ahead 8-4 at the end of the game.  Nice win for the Pirates as they avoided the three game sweep.

Jason Bay hit a two run home run and Xavier Nady had a solo home run to lead the Pirates at the plate.  Bay and Chris Gomez both had two rbi in the game to lead the team.  Nady, Raul Chavez, and Tom Gorzelanny all had a rbi in the game.

Gorzelanny ended up getting the win and improving to 4-4 on the season.  He tossed five innings and allowed eight hits but only two runs.  Damaso Marte and John Grabow both gave up one run in relief.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates scored four runs in the eighth inning and then three more in the ninth inning as they came back to beat the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 11-5.  Wow what a come back for the Pirates against the Cardinals.  That is a great way to end a game as they head to Chicago for a weekend series.

Jason Bay had a big three run home run in the eighth inning to spark the Pirates rally.  Nate McLouth also had a home run in the in the first inning that got the Pirates on the scoreboard.  Bay led the Pirates with three rbi while Freddy Sanchez and Jason Michaels both had two rbi.  Chris Gomez, Raul Chavez, and McLouth all had one rbi in the game.

Pirates starting pitcher Ian Snell only lasted four innings as he gave up eleven hits and five runs.  He got lucky to get off the hook as the Pirates came back to win the game.  John Grabow ended up getting the win as he pitched in relief.  Grabow is now 3-1 on the season.

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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 brought out the whoppin sticks as they beat the San Francisco Giants 12-6 on Tuesday night.  The Pirates hit three home runs in the rout of the Giants.

Nate McLouth connected for two home runs and three RBI to lead the Pirates at the plate.  Adam LaRoche had the other home run and two RBI in the game.  Freddy Sanchez and Xavier Nady also had two RBI each in the game.  Ryan Doumit, Jose Bautista, and Chris Gomez all had one RBI in the game.

Zach Duke picked up his first win of the season as he tossed 7 1/3 innings.  Duke gave up eight hits and three runs in the game.  Sean Burnett pitched 2/3’s of an inning allowed two runs while Matt Capps gave up one run in one inning of action.

It was a good win for the Pirates overall but the pitching staff needs to pitch better and not give up six runs.  Usually if the Pirates give up six runs they are going to lose the ballgame.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates struggled at the plate once again as they only managed three hits against the Washington Nationals.  The Pirates did put up two runs with only three hits but they still fell short to the Nationals by the score of 3-2.

Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Doumit both him solo home runs for the Pirates.  That was all the offense that they could come up with against the Nationals pitchers though.

Starting pitcher Zach Duke pitched seven innings and only allowed five hits and two runs.  Duke pitched well enough but with not very much run support, he got a no decesion in the game.  John Grabow took the loss for the Pirates as he gave up a RBI single in the eighth inning to Austin Kearns.

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