The Pittsburgh Pirates inked pitcher Paul Maholm to a three-year deal that includes an club option for a fourth year on Thursday. There are some easy cash advances on the way for Maholm as he will be guaranteed $14.5 million: $3.5 million this season, $4.5 million next season and $5.75 million in 2011. He also has a $9.75 million club option for 2012, which could be his first free agency year. The buyout for that option is $750,000.

Pretty decent salary for Maholm as long as he stays injury free and can get over 10 wins for the club.

The team also finalized the contract with Eric Hinske that we blogged about yesterday.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers played 13 innings on Thursday afternoon and the Pirates came out on the losing end by the score of 4-3. They Pirates just couldn’t get that big hit late in the game to score the winning run and dropped to 64-89 on the season.

T.J. Beam allowed a rbi single in the top of the 13th to James Loney which proved to be the game winning hit for the Dodgers. Craig Hansen ended up with loss as he was responsible for the winning run that was on base. Paul Maholm was the starting pitcher and he only gave up three hits but did allow three runs to score in seven innings of action. It was an up and down game for Maholm as he shouldn’t have allowed three runs to score on only three hits.

Nate McLouth had the first rbi for the Pirates when he hit a rbi sac fly that scored Nyjer Morgan in the first inning. Andy LaRoche then added a rbi single in the sixth inning which was followed by a rbi single in the seventh inning from Luis Cruz.

It was a tough loss for the Pirates but they don’t have much time to think about it as the Houston Astros will be in down for a weekend series starting Friday night.

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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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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 got by the Houston Astros by the score of 4-3 on Thursday evening.  The Pirates got off to a good start in the first inning with three runs, and then scored another run in fifth inning and made sure those were enough runs even though things got crazy in the ninth inning.

With the Pirates up 4-3 in the ninth inning with two outs, the Astros had runners on third and first but Matt Capps was finally able to record the final out when Hunter Pence flied out to center.  Capps was shaky but did his job and picked up his 13th save of the season.

Paul Maholm had a great start as he pitched eight innings to pick up the win.  Maholm is now 4-5 on the season after earning the victory.  Maholm allowed eight hits but only three runs scored in the game.

Jason Michaels had a three run home run in the first inning and than Jason Bay had a rbi triple in the fifth inning to account for all four of the Pirates runs.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates allowed five runs in the final three innings as they lost 7-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers.  It would have been an entirely different game had those runs not crossed the plate in the last three innings, but the Pirates simply didn’t get the job done.

Paul Maholm pitched 6 1/3 innings to take the loss for the Pirates and is now 2-5 on the season with a 5.03 era.  Maholm gave up nine hits and four runs in the game.  Sean Burnett came in after Maholm and gave up two runs on three hits.  Marino Salas then gave up a solo home run in the ninth inning.

Jason Bay did hit a two run home run in the ninth inning but it clearly wasn’t enough as the Brewers had a seven run lead.  Other then that, the Pirates simply stunk it up all night long.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates had no answer for Todd Wellemeyer and three Cardinals relievers as they were only able to score one run against the Cardinals on Wenesday night.  The Pirates went onto lose the game 5-1 as they didn’t score until the eighth inning in the game when it was just a little too late.

Paul Maholm took the loss for the Pirates after throwing six inning and giving up eleven hits and four runs.  Sean Burnett pitched a scoreless inning of relief after Maholm, but then Marino Salas gave up a run on three hits in one inning of action.

The lone Pirates run came in the eighth inning when Nate McLouth singled to left field to score Jose Bautista.

The Pirates still have a shot at winning the series, they will have to beat the Cardinals on Thursday however to do so.

Pirates Homeplate is currently seeking a Pirates fan that would like to write game recaps for the games.  Recaps can be done right after the game is over or the next morning.  If you are interested be us the contact us link at the top of the site to email us.  Pirates Blog

The Pittsburgh Pirates completed a three game sweep of the San Francisco Giants on Thursday afternoon with a 5-4 win.  The Giants had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning but the Pirates held on for the win which improved their record to 15-19 on the season.

Starting pitcher Paul Maholm lasted six innings as he gave up six hits and four runs.  Franquelis Osoria, John Grabow, Tyler Yates, and Matt Capps all pitched in relief of Maholm and did a great job.   The Pirates bullpen only gave up two hits as they pitched three innings.

Ryan Doumit led the Pirates with two rbi in the game.  Nate McLouth, Jason Bay, and Adam LaRoche all had one RBI in the game as well.  Some nice production up and down the lineup for the Pirates.

The Pirates are now 15-19 on the season after the three game sweep of the Giants.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates got behind early and were never able to come back against the Los Angeles Dodgers as the Dodgers won 8-1.  Bad starting pitching and no hitting really hurt the Pirates on Wednesday night.  I don’t think Pirates are going to turn things around anytime soon either.

Paul Maholm took the loss for the Pirates and his record dropped to 0-2.  Maholm pitched five innings and gave up six runs (four earned) and 11 hits.  Franquelis Osoria pitched two innings in relief of Maholm and he gave up another two earned runs.  Damaso Marte came in to pitch scoreless ninth inniing to finish the game.

Adam LaRoche was the only Pirates player to record an RBI.  LaRoche had a RBI single in the sixth inning.

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