Game 91 Recap-
Pirates All Star CF Nate McLouth hit a tie breaking 2 run shot in the 8th & gave LH Paul Maholm a well deserved win, helping Pittsburgh beat the New York Yankees, 4-2. This day was supposed to be a day off for both clubs but is a make-up from a June 26th rainout.
Maholm(6-5,3.93) was outstanding vs one of the better hitting lineups in all of baseball, over 8 innings, he allowed 7 hits & 2 runs with 1 walk & 4 strikeouts. The LH was kicked around in that June 26th game, giving up extra base hits to the 1st 4 hitters and the lineup was 5 for 12 with a 3 run lead. “When that game was rained out, everything got wiped away and I could concentrate on the Reds and Brewers after that and I was able to throw good against them,” said Maholm, 4-0 in his last eight starts. “To come back in against these guys, and their stacked lineup, I had the confidence to mix pitches and just go after them and not worry about who’s in the box.”
This was an old fashioned pitching battle, as Yankees veteran RH Mike Mussina(11-6,3.61) continued his strong season with 6 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 9 hits and walked no one with 5 Ks. 2b Freddy Sanchez was the offense early with rbi hits in the 3rd(single) & 5th(sacrifice fly). Maholm held the fort until Yankees RF Bobby Abreu drove in two in the 7th with 2 run single.
SS Jack Wilson walked to lead off the 8th, McLouth was asked to bunt and missed the first pitch from Yankees RH Jose Veras(2-0,2.45). He hit the next pitch out to rightfield, “I messed up the bunt the pitch before and, luckily, got a pitch to hit the next pitch and didn’t miss it,” said McLouth, who is hitting .333 since being named as the Pirates’ lone All-Star. “The inning before, they mounted a rally and tied the game up and looked to have momentum on their side, so to take it back was big.”
New Pirates closer LH Damaso Marte(4-0, 3.30) had to battle in the ninth, as rookie Justin Christian walked with 1 out and stole 2nd. 1b Jason Giambi flied out & Yankees captain Derek Jeter grounded out to 1st for Marte’s 4th save and Nice Pittsburgh win!
Star of the Game-
Maholm-4-0 in his last 8 starts, gave the team in shot in the arm over the last 35-40 games. HUGE with the pitching injuries to give the pen some needed rest!
Pirates Notes-
Wilson batted 9th in the game with Maholm in the 8 spot, the LH SP struck out 3 times & left 3 on base…. 39,081 watched the game, 3rd largest crowd since PNC opened in 2001…Wilson & C Ryan Doumit lead the team with 2 hits
Next Game-
Start of a 3 game series vs the Cardinals–
Friday,7:05
Pirates LH Zach Duke(4-5,4.23) vs Cardinals RH Kyle Lohse(10-2,3.61)
