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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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

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 got a good pitching performance by Zach Duke as they beat the Houston Astros 5-2 on Wednesday night.  With the win the Pirates tied the series at 1-1 with the rubber match being Thursday night.

Duke tossed 7 2/3 innings while giving up seven hits and two runs.  Ty Wigginton took him deep for a solo home run in the first and then Carlos Lee had a rbi single in the sixth inning.  Duke will take that kind of quality start every time he takes the mound.  With the win he is now 2-5 on the season.

Damaso Marte recorded the last out in the eighth inning after Duke left the game and then the closer Matt Capps came in to get his 12th save of the season.

Raul Chavez had a two run single in the fourth inning and then a sacrafice fly in the eighth inning to lead the Pirates with three rbi in the game.  Adam LaRoche had a rbi single in the fourth inning while Nate McLouth had a rbi single in the fifth inning.

The Pirates will try to win the series as they battle the Astros on Thursday night.

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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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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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It took ten innings but the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night by the score of 4-3.  On a night where the Braves had to go straight to the bullpen due to an injury to Mike Hampton, the Pirates knew they would have some opportunities and eventually took advantage of them.

Xavier Nady singled in Nyjer Morgan for the game winning run in the top of the 10th inning.  Nady had a great series against the Braves, lets hope he continues to stay hot during the next series.

Zach Duke shut out the Braves for five innings but gave up three runs on three hits.  Tyler Yates earned the win by pitching a scoreless ninth inning.

The Pirates do have to worry about an injury to Jack Wilson however.  He left the game in the 7th inning while running out a ball.  Hopefully he just tweaked the calf, and he will be day to day.

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