Pirates get rocked in game three

Pirates lose 9-3.

The Pirates had the oppurtunity to complete the series sweep of the Rockies, just the second oppurtunity for a sweep on the road this season, but Jimenez was back to his first-half of the season self and held the Pirates to just one run.

 

Paul Maholm gave up eight runs on 11 hits through 5 1/3 innings while walking three and striking out three, throwing 120 pitches.

Most of the damage though, came in the second inning. With a runner on first and one out, Pedro Alvarez made a great play, but made a horrible throw that sailed over the head of Garrett Jones moving two Rockies into scoring position. Maholm then gave up two consecutive two run hits, Colorado got four runs in the inning. Paul threw 52 pitches by the end of the second.

It was season highs in hits, ER and pitches

“I felt good,” Maholm said after the Pirates’ 9-3 loss to the Rockies. “They had lost [eight] in a row. They’re eventually going to break out. They had good at-bats. You’ve got to give them credit.”

He never seemed like he got into much of a rhythm,” manager John Russell said. “The biggest thing was that he had trouble putting hitters away, just didn’t quite get the ball where he wanted to. He battled. It just wasn’t his day.” 

Maholm falls to 6-9 on the season and his ERA goes up to 4.52. In the past month, Paul has only managed to get two wins. He’s been up and down over that span, throwing a complete game shutout one game and then getting pulled after just three innnings in another.

. 

Jul 23 VS SD- (L) 6IP, 9H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 2K

Jul 18 VS HOU – (W) 9IP, 3H, 0BB, 1K

Jul 9 VS MIL – (ND) 7IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 1HR, 2B, 4K

Jul 3 VS PHI - (L) 3IP, 10H, 8R, 7ER, 2BB, 1K

Jun 28 VS CHC – (W) 8IP, 7H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 2K

Not that the Pirates pitching has been good this season, but It’s interesting to see how hit or miss Maholm has been as of late.

 

Neil Walker hit a two-run Home Run (5) and Garrett Jones hit an RBI double for the only three runs scored on the day. Ubaldo Jimenez limited the Pirates to only four hits.

After a few rough starts for Jimenez, he clearly looked like his old self hitting high 90′s on the gun. He threw seven innings, giving up one earned run, and struck out six.

“He’s not 15-2 with a 2.70 [ERA] for nothing,” second baseman Neil Walker said. “When he’s throwing his offspeed pitches for strikes that makes his fastball that much more difficult. I’m sure that’s a typical day for him today. He did a good job of getting the outs when he needed.”

“It’s obviously disappointing to lose today, but at the same time, to know that you’ve already won the series is definitely good mentally for you,” Walker said. “I don’t think we let up today. We fought pretty hard. Jimenez obviously was pretty good today.”

 

 

Other Pirates News:

• The Pirates have hit at least one HR in five consecutive games, a season high.
• Ex Pirate, Jack Taschner was designated for Assignment today by the Dodgers.
• Ex Pirate Matt Capps picked up his 26th save of the season, his eigth consecutive save for the Nationals.
• Andrew McCutchen was a late scratch from the lineup in todays game due to shoulder stiffness. An hour before the first pitch he elected to sit out of the game. McCutchen re-aggravated his shoulder making a catch against the wall in Wed game. He is listed as day-to-day.

“There was no pain. It was just stiff,” he said. “I figured it might loosen up, but it didn’t want to loosen up. It’s still not 100 percent yet. I’ll show up [Friday] and see how it feels.”  

• Ross Ohlendorf reported feeling “really good” this morning, and shouldn’t miss his next start. Ohlendorf will be continued to be monitored over the next few days.

“We’re hoping that he should be able to make his next start,” manager John Russell said. “[He's] very lucky, very lucky.” 

•  Brandon Moss has been rolling in Triple-A. For a detailed look at how he has been doing in Indy, check out the Indians’s broadcaster, Scott McCauley’s blog -Isthisthingon? 
•  Since the All-Star Break stats for the Pirates (entering Thursday):

70 Runs scored (2nd in NL, CHC has 71) 

.283 Team Batting AVG (2nd in NL)

.454 Slugging % (3rd in NL)

 

Tomorow’s Pitching Matchup:

Jeff Karstens 2-6, 4.72 ERA

VS

Chris Carpenter 11-3, 3.09 ERA

After starting with four perfect innings during his last outing, Karstens pitched four more strong innings against the Padres Saturday, striking out four. But his third time around resulted in a three-run (one earned) sixth. Karstens has not recorded.

Carpenter thrives when he pitches within the division, and he’s pretty tough at home too. He’ll be kicking off an important six-game homestand in which the Cardinals theoretically will have a chance to make some serious headway in the standings.

Pirates