The Pirates carried their win over the Dodgers in their finale this weekend into a four game winning streak with three straight wins over the Astros. The Pirates got some top notch pitching in all three games as the Pirates now find themselves at an even 10-10.
On Tuesday, Paul Maholm won his first game in a very nice outing. He gave up just three hits and a walk with four strikeouts in a complete game shutout. Ronny Paulino went two for three and he hit a solo homerun while Jason Bay went three for four with two RBIs in the 3-0 win.
The pitching wasn’t as good in the other two games but it was solid enough. Yesterday, Salomon Torres blew another save and he gave up two runs in the ninth. Seven innings later, Adam LaRoche singled home Jack Wilson in the bottom of the sixteenth to win it. Shawn Chacon threw four innings of shutout relief in extra frames and John Wasdin threw two shutout innings and he picked up the win. A nice start by Zach Duke (one run in seven innings) was almost wasted. At the plate, Chris Duffy went three for six and LaRoche finished the game with two RBIs.
The Pirates finished the sweep this afternoon. Tony Armas had his best start of the season and he gave up one run in five innings while Jonah Bayliss picked up the win with two shutout frames. Torres was hit hard in the ninth and he gave up two runs before he gave way to John Grabow for the save.
The Pirates look to extend their streak with three games against the Reds this weekend. It’ll be Ian Snell against Eric Milton tomorrow in the opener. I like our chances in that one.
