Pirates Journal

Game 35 Recap-

The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to play strong ball winning their 4th game in a row with a exciting, well pitched victory over the Atlanta Braves 3-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. 2b Freddy Sanchez drove in all of the Pirates runs including a clutch 2 out hit in the ninth for the decisive run. LH RP John Grabow(2-1) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.

Pirates RHP Ian Snell(4.53 era) was outstanding tonight, over 7 innings, he allowed only 2 hits and 1 run while walking 5 and striking out 6. His only allowed run scored on a ground out by Braves RF Jeff Francoeur in the 6th. Atlanta’s starter, sure fire hall of famer LH Tom Glavine(4.03 era), was also strong but allowed 2 runs in his 7 frames. He gave up 5 hits while walking 4 and striking out 3. His mistake was a 2 run double by Sanchez that could have been worse if a Pirates runner was not erased at the plate.

The Braves scraped together a run off of two Pirates relievers(LH Damaso Marte and RH Tyler Yates) when Francoeur tied the game with an rbi single to make it 2 all. After a fly out to lead off the Pittsburgh ninth, RH Jeff Bennett(3.64) entered the game. 3b Jose Bautista greeted him with a single to left. SS Brian Bixler grounded out and Bautista was out at 2b. Doug Mientkiewicz pinch hit and singled Bixler to 3rd. Sanchez stepped to the plate and became a hero with a solid single to center field and a Pirates victory.

Star of the Game-

Sanchez- Was the Pirates offense, driving in 3 runs. Continues to excel in the lead off spot.

Pirates Notes-

Pirates blew their 1st save of the season tonight…..Marte had retired 22 consecutive hitters until allowing a single in the 8th tonight….Sanchez and C Ryan Doumit(.340 average) had 2 hits

Next Game-

Pirates LH Tom Gorzelanny(2-3) vs Braves LH Chuck James(2-1)

In a move to bolster the bench and gave a young kid everday playing time in the minors, Pirates traded the dreaded player to be named later for OF Jason Michaels from the Indians today. The right handed hitting OF was designated for assignment and not getting much playing time in the strong Cleveland OF. He is a solid back up with a .277 career average over 1627 ABs.

In related move,OF Nyjer Morgan was sent to Triple A to get ever day action. The Pittsburgh OF of LF Jason Bay,CF Nate McLouth and RF Xavier Nady is among the tops in all of baseball and the young OF was getting next to no playing time. He has registered 2 starts and 33 plate appearances. He will play regularly in Indianapolis with other super prospects Andrew McCutchen and Steve Pearce.

Game 34 Recap-

Pittsburgh Pirates 5- San Francisco Giants 4

The Pittsburgh Pirates got a break on judgement call by the umpires and made it stand up on a clutch hit to help sweep a game series vs the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park, 5-4. Trailing 4-2 in the 7th, After a disputed safe call, the Pirates bats came alive for a 3 run rally in the 7th. CF Nate McLouth scored the 1st run on a sac fly, LF Jason Bay doubled in another and 1b Adam Laroche singled for the decisive run.

The Pirates jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 3rd vs Giants RH Matt Cain(1-3,4.50) when C Ryan Doumit, batting clean up and hitting .333, scored 2 with a single. However, San Francisco quickly countered with a 4 run frame in the top of the 4th. A infield run scoring hit and 2 run single by C Steve Holm brought Cain to the plate and the Giants starter responded with an rbi single for the 4th run.

The play in dispute was a bunt hit by OF Nyjer Morgan down the 3rd base line, It appeared he was out at 1st but he was called safe. McLouth and Bay followed(chasing Cain) and that brought Laroche to the plate against LH Jack Taschner after 2 outs. He drove a pitch to right that scored Bay for a 5-4 lead.

LH SP Paul Maholm was solid for the Pirates over 6 IP, he allowed 6 hits and 4 runs while walking 2 and striking out 4. RH Franquelis Osoria pitched a strong 7th for the victory, while set up men LH John Grabow and RH Tyler Yates pitched thru the 8th. Closer Matt Capps took the mound for the 9th and allowed a runner to 2nd but struck out the last batter of the game for his 8th save.

Star of the Game-

Laroche— With the seasons Nady(NL leader in rbi), McLouth,Bay and Doumit are having, if he hits, this lineup can be incredible. Big step tonight with a clutch 2 out hit vs a lefty.Pirates Manager John Russell put the season’s hitting in perspective, “There’s been so many games we were coming back in, but we haven’t been getting that last hit. A huge key for us today was that we went ahead and got that extra hit that put us over the top.”

Pirates Notes-

Laroche was hitting .143 average vs Lefties….Pittsburgh has won 13 of 15 against the Giants….Sanchez is 7 for 13 since being inserted in the leadoff spot earlier this week….Rain fell almost the entire game but the game was never stopped

Next Game/Series-

4 Games vs Atlanta at PNC Park….

Friday-7:05

Pirates RH Ian Snell(2-2) vs Braves LH Tom Glavine(0-1)

Game 33 Recap-

Pittsburgh Pirates 3- San Francisco Giants 1-
PNC Park-Pittsburgh

On a night when struggling Giants veteran LH Barry Zito made his return to the rotation, he was upstaged by a guy looking for his 1st career ML victory. Pirates LH SP Phil Dumatrait, making his 2nd start for Pittsburgh since replacing released Matt Morris, was the story, giving the team 5 2/3 innings of 3 hit ball, he allowed 3 walks and struck out 5. For his trouble, this former 1st round draft pick(2000 with the Red Sox) earned his 1st major league win.

Not much offense for either club and the Pirates continued to move some pieces around the batting order. 2b Freddy Sanchez stayed in the lead off spot, followed by 3b Jose Bautista, red hot CF Nate McLouth, LF Jason Bay, RF Xavier Nady and 1b Adam Laroche. Back up C Ronny Paulino and rookie SS Brian Bixler manned the 7th and 8th spots in front of the pitcher.

Zito was very effective and kept the Pirates off bay for most of his appearance. He looked healthy and got a lot of swings and misses and Giants fans should be encouraged by his performance. Over 5 innings, he allowed 5 hits and 2 runs while walking 2 and striking out 5. His one mistake was a 2 run homer to Nady with a runner on in the 4th.

Dumatrait was outstanding and has allowed 1 run since moving into the rotation over 9 2/3 innings. The lefty was emotional after the game and Pittsburgh Manager John Russell summed it up best when he said “I thought he was great.” The Pirates bullpen middle men came up huge as RH Tyler Yates(1 1/3,1h,1k) and LH Damaso Marte(1 IP, 3 Ks) kept the Giants offense in a funk.

Nady added another run with a rbi double pla ground out in the 8th. Pittsburgh closer Matt Capps entered the in the 9th and made it interesting. He allowed 3 consecutive singles and a run before a fly out and ground ball double play to end the game and earn his 7th save as well as Dumatrait’s 1st win.

Star of the Game— Dumatrait!!!! Great individual story but also huge team wise as he has helped fill the role of a stabilizer that Morris’ failed at so miserably.

Pirates Notes-

Dumatrait was 0 for 4 with a 15.00 era in 6 starts with the Reds last year….. McLouth hit 3rd for the 3rd time this season

Next Game-

12:35 PNC Park-Pittsburgh

Pirates LH Paul Maholm(2-3) vs Giants RH Matt Cain(1-2)

Game 32 Recap-

The Pittsburgh Pirates rode a solid performance from LH SP Zach Duke(4.60 era) and banged out 12 runs and 14 hits to beat the San Francisco Giants 12-6 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. CF Nate McLouth moved down in the order to help produce more runs with his red hot season, flip flopped with 2b Fredd Sanchez(took over the lead off spot) in the batting order and responded in the 2 hole with 2 homers. The offensively challenged Pirates had 4 multiple run innings and put pressure on the Giants all night.

As great as the offense was, LH SP Zach Duke pitched well and got the team to the 8th inning. Over 7 1/3 innings, he allowed 8 hits and 3 runs while walking and striking out 3. His mound counterpart, LH Jonathan Sanchez(4.74 era), avoided trouble til the 3rd inning. He worked 4 1/3 innings, 6 hits, 7 runs and walked 3 while k-ing 4. He gave up homers to McLouth and 1b Adam Laroche.

The Pirates jumped on Sanchez in the 3rd with Sanchez driving in a run with a single abd McLouth following with a homer to right to make it 3-0. Laroche’s 2 run shot in the 4th made it 5-0. Consecutive rbi doubles in the 5th by C Ryan Doumit and RF Xavier Nady had the margin at 8-0. McLouth’s 2nd homer in the 6th put the Pirates lead at 9. San Francisco responded with a single run in the 7th.

Pittsburgh added 3 runs in the 7th with some bottom of the lineup offense. 3b Jose Bautista doubled for a run, super sub SS Chris Gomez and Sanchez singled in runs for a 12-1 score. The Giants scored 5 runs in the 8th when Duke tired and was relieved by recent Triple A call up, LH Sean Burnett. Closer Matt Capps got a inning of work in a non save situation and gave up a meaningless run in the 9th.

Star of the Game-

Sanchez and McLouth— combined for 4 runs, 6 hits, 5 rbi— not bad lineup switches by manager John Russell!

Pirates Notes-

Pittsburgh had lost 3 of 4 and 7 of 10…Giants SP Sanchez complained about the PNC Park mound after the game, claiming it was the worst mound he ever pitched on

Next Game-

Wednesday-

7:05 PNC Park-Pittsburgh

Pirates LH SP Phil Dumatrait(0-1) vs Giants LH Barry Zito(0-6)

Game 31 Recap-

Washington Nationals 5- Pittsburgh Pirates 2

The Washington Nationals got a quick start on the Pittsburgh Pirates with 3 runs in the 1st 4 innings and got a strong performance by RHP Tim Redding to win 5-2 Sunday at Nationals Park in DC. Redding was strong over his 6 1/3 innings,allowing 6 hits and 1 run while striking out 5.

The Nationals jumped out to a 2-0 led in the 1st inning off of RH SP Ian Snell. The young veteran battled for 6 innings, allowing 4 runs, 1 walk and k-ing 2. 1b Nick Johnson and RF Austin Kearns drove in the runs with rbi singles. Washington added another run in the 4th on a solo homer by 3b Aaron Boone to make it 3-0. Pirates 1b Adam Laroche homered in the 5th to close the gap to 3-1.

Snell started to tire in the 7th and allowed a rbi single to 2b Felipe Lopez and was done for the game at 101 pitches. LH Damaso Marte entered the game and got a fly out and key double play to avoid any more trouble. The Nationals really made the score out of reach after a Wily Mo Pena pinch hit rbi double gave the home team a 4 run margin,5-1. Laroche added an rbi single in the 9th to get the Pirates within 3 at 5-2 but Nationals RH Jesus Colome get the final two outs for the Washington victory.

Star of the Game- Redding, who was solid and allowed his fielders to work

Pirates Notes- OF Nyjer Morgan broke an 0 for 15 slump with a pinch hit bunt single in the 8th…. Pirates purchased LHP Sean Burnett from Triple A Indianapolis and designated RHP Evan Meek for assignment… Nationals won 3 of the 4 in the series and closed the longest homestand of the season at 8-3

Next Game/Series

Team is off Monday

Host 3 game series vs San Francisco Giants at PNC Park

Tuesday-7:05-Pirates LH Zach Duke(0-2) vs Giants LH Jonathan Sanchez(2-1)

Wednesday-7:05- Pittsburgh LH Phil Dumatrait(0-1) vs SF LH Patrick Misch(0-0)

Thursday-12:35 Pirates LH Paul Maholm(2-3) vs RH Matt Cain(1-2)

Game 30 Recap-

Washington Nationals 9-Pittsburgh Pirates 8

The Washington Nationals rode a huge day by SS Christian Guzman(4 hits, 6 rbi) to a 9-8 victory vs the Pittsburgh Pirates in DC Saturday afternoon. Guzman hit a 2 run homer in the 1st for the 1st runs of the game and the Nats never looked back. He added an rbi single in the 2nd and a big 3 run double in the 6th to add to his career day.

Pirates LH Paul Maholm drew the start and struggled early and often. Over his 5 innings of work, he was touched for 10 hits, 7 runs, walked 3, struck out 2 and allowed Guzman’s homer.
The Nationals SS got Maholm again with an rbi single in the 2nd, a fielders choice and CF Lastings Milledge rbi single made it 5-1.

Nationals starter, LH Matt Chico was also ineffective and gone after 4 1/3 innings. After Pittsburgh scored a single run in the 2nd on a ground out,3b Jose Bautista homered in the 4th to make it 5-2. The Pirates chased the young Washington starter with a 3 run inning, hi-lighted by rbi singles from both 1b Adam Laroche and Bautista.

Washington matched this rally and put the game out of reach with Guzman clearing the bases with a 3 run double and RF Austin Kearns driving him in with a single to make it 9-5. The Pirates did not quit and scored runs off of the Nationals bullpen in the 7th(Baustista sac fly) and 8th(2 run double by red hot RF Xavier Nady) to close the gap to one run. Nationals closer 6′11 RH Jon Rauch allowed a walk and steal in the 9th but retired two of the hottest Pirates in C Ryan Doumit(fly out) and CF Nate McLouth for the final outs and his 7th save.

Star of the Game-Guzman, who killed the Pirates all day with big, run producing hits

Pirates Notes-Nady was hit by a pitch in the head in the 3rd but was ok and did not miss anytime….SS Jack Wilson suffered what is being termed a setback in his rehab assignment. He was going to play with Double A Altoona but that has been moved back to late week

Next Game-
Sunday-1:35 PM-Nationals Park

Pirates RH Ian Snell(2-1) vs Nationals RH Tim Redding(3-2)

Game 29 Recap-

Pittsburgh Pirates 11- Washington Nationals 4

The Pittsburgh Pirates used a 6 run 3rd inning and great work from the relief corps as they won big at Nationals Park in DC, 11-4. The offense was led by 3b Jose Bautista’s 2 for 4 night with 2 homers and 4 rbi. The bullpen carried Pirates young swing starter, LH Phil Dumatrait, who lasted 4 innings, gaving up 6 hits and 4 runs while walking 1 and striking out 4. Led by winner LH RP Damaso Marte’s 2 innings(no hits, strike out) the pen pitched 5 shut out innings and Marte earned his 2nd win of the season.

The Pirates offense erupted for 6 runs in the 3rd and never looked back. C Ryan Doumit(.366 average) and RF Xavier Nady had rbi singles to make it 2-0. After a 1b Doug Mientkiewicz fielders choice netted another run, Bautista hit a 3 run bomb and it was quickly 6-0.Young Nationals LH John Lannan took the brunt of this onslaught and ended the night with 3 innings of work, 6 hits, 6 runs(5 earned) and walked 2. The Nationals got a single run in the bottom of the inning. Doumit answered with another rbi single and the lead was 6 again at 7-1.

Washington came to life in the 3 and erupted for 3 runs, on a sac fly and C Wil Nieves 2 run double. The Pirates really put the game away with Bautista homering again in the 5th, super sub Chris Gomez’ 2 rbi double(7th) and LF Jason Bay’s double making it 11-4 in the 8th.

Star of the Game-Bautista 2 homers and 4 rbis– showing signs of life last 10 days or so. Good sign with CF Nate McLouth, Nady,Bay and Doumit all hitting.

Co-star of the game-Pirates Pen- 5 innings of zeros— led by winner Marte, LH John Grabow,RH Tyler Yates and closer RH Matt Capps all contributed

Pirates Notes- McLouth was on base 3 times(2 hits, walk) and scored 3 runs….. This was Bautista’s 2nd career 2 homer game, happened previously vs the Astros in Houston, August 25,2007

Next Game-

Saturday-Nationals Park-Washington- 1:05

Pirates LH Paul Maholm(2-2) vs Nationals LH Matt Chico(0-5)

Game 28 Recap-

The Washington Nationals got a clutch 8th inning run scoring single by RF Austin Kearns off of LH RP Jon Grabow in the 8th for a decisive run in Thursday’s series opener in DC. The game was well pitched by both starters as Pirates LH Zach Duke(7 innings, 5 hits,2 runs, 2 walks,1 strikeout) and his Nationals counterpart, LH Odalis Perez(7 innings,3 hits, 2 runs(both solo home runs), 4 strike outs) were very strong and kept the opposition at bay.

The Nationals scored 2 runs in the 2nd on an rbi single by C Will Nieves. Pirates 2b Freddy Sanchez took Perez deep with a solo shot in the 4th. Pittsburgh tied it in the 7th when red hot C Ryan Doumit homered to make it 2 all. This set the drama for Kearns’ heroics in the 8th.
Injury fill-in closer Jon Rauch(star closer Chad Cordero out with arm issues since season’s start) pitched the ninth for his 6th save.

Stars of the Game-2 starters- Perez and Duke- 14 IP, 8 hits,4 runs— great work for any ML pitchers

Second Guess?Pirates Manager John Russell for pulling Duke after 85 pitches?

Pirates Notes-

Russell stated after the game that LH SP Tom Gorzelanny should not miss anytime with his tweaked back…. SS Jack Wilson is in extended spring training today and Friday and then will face rehab in Double A… Pirates held to 3 total hits

Next Game-

Pirates LH Phil Dumatrait(0-1) vs Nationals LH Matt Chico(0-5)