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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Nate McLouth hit a three run homer in the top of the 9th inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates came from behind to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4.  That is a very big win for the Pirates, especially as it came on the road and will hopefully give the team some momentum on their road trip.

With the home run, McLouth has now recorded a hit on all 13 games this season.

Jose Bautista got the Pirates on the scoreboard in the 2nd inning when he hit a two-run home run.  Xavier Nady then doubled in the 6th inning and scored another run.  Those two swings of the bat and McLouth’s swing were all the Pirates needed.

Tyler Yates picked up the win as he pitched in relief.  Yates record is now 2-0 on the season.  Matt Capps picked up his fourth save of the season as he shut the door on the Dodgers in the 9th inning.

Starting pitcher Zach Duke pitched six innings as he allowed eight hits and four runs (three were earned), and two walks.  It wasn’t too bad of a performance by Duke, he just needs to keep the ball down and keep this hitters off balance.

With the win, the Pirates are now a game over .500 as their record stands at 7-6.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates lost a heart breaking game to the Florida Marlins on Friday evening as Mike Jacobs hit a walk off homerun for the Marlins.  The Pirates once again played in a one run ballgame and came up just short.

Chris Gomez‘s two-run single and Nate McLouth‘s run-scoring double gave Pittsburgh’s a three-run second inning but the Marlins quickly tied it up at three in the bottom half of the inning.  In the fourth inning, Ryan Doumit connected for his first homerun and put the Pirates up 4-3 but that didnt’ last long as the Marlins once again tied the game in the bottom half of the inning.  There wasn’t any other scoring in the game until the Jacob’s walk off homerun.

Matt Morris didn’t pitch too badly as he gave up four earned runs on eight hits.  He kept the team in the ballgame, and that is all you can ask for by your starting pitcher.  Franquelis Osoria took the lose for the Pirates.

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