August 2010
PIT @ CHC 8/31 8:05
Tuesday’s Pitching Matchup:
Jeff Karstens 2-10, 4.98 ERA
VS
Ryan Dempster 12-8, 3.42 ERA
Karstens missed his last start due to arm fatigue, Daniel McCutchen took his start in the rotation. Karstens has passed his total innings pitched from 2009 already so the Pirates will be careful with Jeff the remainder of the season. Karstens surrendered seven runs off 11 hits against the Mets his last trip to the mound on 8/20. In his last three starts, Jeff is 0-3 with a 8.40 ERA.
Dempster has a 1.66 ERA in his last 21.2 innings pitched. Ryan won against the Nationals his last time out, pitching seven scoreless innings, gave up just two hits and struck out eight. Dempster is having a great month of August with a stingy 1.31 ERA.
Pirates Lineup:
Andrew McCutchen CF
Jose Tabata LF
Neil Walker 2B
Garrett Jones 1B
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Ryan Doumit RF
Ronny Cedeno SS
Chris Synder C
Jeff Karstens P
Cubs Lineup:
Blake Dewitt 2B
Starlin Castro SS
Marlon Byrd CF
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Xavier Nady 1B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Tyler Colvin RF
Koyie Hill C
Ryan Dempster P
- As of right now, Charlie Morton will remain in the Pirates lineup –atleast until his start on Saturday.
One of the primary issues in Morton’s troublesome 3 1/3-innings return from the Minors on Sunday was the degree to which the righty relied on his offspeed pitches. For a guy who has overpowering ability, Morton’s dependency on his secondary pitches has been baffling.
Though Morton’s problems have been much more pronounced this year, his use of his fastball has actually decreased in each of the past two seasons. In 2008, 64.6 percent of Morton’s pitches were two-seam or four-seam fastballs. In 2009, that percentage dipped to 56.7. This year, it’s at 52.2 percent, meaning that Morton is going away from the fastball on about every other pitch he throws.
Morton’s lack of aggressiveness on Sunday was mostly his own doing. He shook off catcher Ryan Doumit repeatedly early on, before Doumit began playing into Morton’s less aggressive game plan later in the outing.
(Bucs want Morton to be more agressive- Pirates.com)
“As a catcher, it’s tough when you’re being shaken off by the pitcher,” Russell said. “You’re trying to get what he wants to do because you don’t want him to shake, but you also know what you want to do, so it’s a battle.
“[Doumit] kind of wanted Charlie to throw a game and see what he’s doing, and let him kind of take the game and see where he took it. Now we have a pretty good indication of what we need to focus on, not only with his pitches, but also with the mental part.”
Rock bottom for the Pirates? Buccos lose 14-2.
They say you can’t turn things around or make a change until you’ve reached rock bottom.
If last night, er, scratch that. If this year for the Pirates isn’t rock bottom, then I don’t want to know what is.
For two nights in a row, the Pirates starting pitcher lasted just 3.1 innings. (As Rob Biertempfel, Pirates beat writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review pointed out last night;) It’ spooky how similar both Maholm and Morton’s starts ended.
Morton: 3.1 IP, 8 R, 9 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP
Maholm: 3.1 IP, 8 R, 9 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP
The Pirates just can’t find a way to win on the road this season. They are 13-52, the only team in the majors to not have atleast 21 road wins. The 14 straight losses on the road is quickly catching up to the record they set earlier in the season, with 17.
If we just keep playing hard and playing our game, things will turn around and we’ll start winning some ballgames,” Garrett Jones said. “We haven’t been getting the wins, but we’re playing hard-nosed baseball, hard all the way until the end.”
Paul Maholm has had a very rollercoaster season and last night was one of the worst starts this year. It didn’t start off well for Paul, giving up two runs in the first inning on three hits, a hit-batter; six men came to the plate and he threw 25 pitches. Maholm calmed down and pitched well until he hit a brick wall in the fourth inning. Seven runs scored on seven hits, 11 Cubs came to the plate and Maholm was pulled after 3.1 innings.
Overthrowing, not getting into rhythm, trying to do too much with it, it hurt,” said Maholm. “You look back at every game that’s kind of gone like this, and it’s been the exact same thing. I wish in the middle of it I can fix it, but you’ve got to take a step back and look at it and figure it out from there.”
The bleeding continued for Burres and Gallagher as they came in for relief. Combined they pitched 3.2 innings, gave up six runs on nine hits. The Pirates lost 14-2.
Carlos Zambrano went 5.1 innings, gave up one run, zero earned on four hits, walked four and struck out seven. Zambrano also hit a home run off Burress in the fifth inning, his 21st career homer –the most by a cubs pitcher and the most in the National League since Bob Gibson had 24.
The losses are not only effecting the players, but also the manager as well. After the game ended JR was spotted sitting in silence for a few minutes before heading to the clubhouse.
“They’re not the ones throwing the pitches,” said Paul Maholm, defending the team’s coaching staff. “It’s our job to go out there and win games and do what we’re supposed to. That can’t be on your mind. We go out there and play hard every day, and that’s all you can do.”
News and Notes:
- Pedro Alvarez last RBI (before last night’s) was on August 16th.
- The Cubs hit eight doubles during last night’s game.
- The Pirates have now allowed 10 + runs for the 13th time this season.
- Brad Lincoln –a hopefull Septemeber call-up– is still being bothered by neck spasms. He is currently on the minor league DL and hasn’t pitched since August 18th. Before the DL stint, Lincoln gave up just one run in his past 12 innings.
- Not since 1952 — when Pittsburgh pulled out just 19 wins away from home — has the club not reached the 20-win road benchmark (Via Pirates.com)
- The Pirates are on pace for a 53-109 record.
- In Major League baseball, no team hase lost more than 106 games since the 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks went 51-111. (Via Pittsburgh-Post Gazette)
- For some happy news: Rookies on the rise:
Jose Tabata .312 AVG, 17 2B, 21 RBI –Since All-Star break .362 AVG, 3 HR, 15 RBI
Neil Walker .298 AVG, 20 2B, 44 RBI –Since All-Star break .319 AVG 4 HR, 32 RBI
- Evan Meek’s swelling on his right hand is continuing to subside and he should be able to pitch again within a few days. Meek said he doesn’t feel pain in his hand and can almost close his fist fully. On sunday, he couldn’t close his hand at all so he is making great progress.
“I’m waiting for the swelling to go down, and then to be able to grip the ball without having any pain, “ Meek said. Hopefully it’s going to be only a few days, and then I should be able to get back on the mound. It shouldn’t be that long.”
The Pirates don’t expect to put Evan Meek on the DL, the bullpen will have to make by with one man short.
- The Pirates will have Chris Snyder catch Charlie Morton’s next start on Saturday. John Russell said he repeatedly shook off Ryan Doumit during his start on Sunday.
Pirates @ Cubs 8/30 8:05
Pirates Lineup:
McCutchen 8
Tabata 7
Walker 4
Jones 3
Alvarez 5
Doumit 2
Milledge 9
Cedeno 6
Maholm 1
Cubs Lineup:
Baker 4
Castro 6
Byrd 8
Ramirez 5
Nady 3
Soriano 7
Colvin 9
Hill 2
Zambrano 1
- Chris Synder is out of the lineup for the second straight game.
- Indian LHP Rinku Singh has been promoted to State College.
- State College’s Adalberto Santos named the New York-Penn League Hitter of the Week.
- (Via @Dejan_Kovacevic) Pirates RHP Evan Meek says hand “feeling good,” gripping baseball by his stall. Expects to throw after couple days. Meek has some swelling on hand, but not much, and bruising minimal. “I got really lucky.”
News and Notes 8/30
- Jose Tabata continues to be a hitting machine; 12-for-28, .428 AVG, two home runs, two walks and four RBI in his past seven games.
Since being called up from Triple-A Indy on June 9th, Tabata has accumulated 87 hits which is only one behind Albert Pujols during that span.
“Albert Pujols? Really? Come on,” Tabata pressed.
Batting .312, he is second among all Major League Rookies with a minimum of 300 plate apperances; Buster Posey is the leader.
If that isn’t enough, Tabata’s 59 hits since the All-Star break are second-most in the league, behind the Cubs Starlin Castro.
- The Pirates face the Cubs for the final three games of the season starting today. This season the Buccos have “owned” Chicago winning 9-of-12 games. Ryan Doumit is 8-for-17 against Zambrano, so I would expect him to be in the line-up today playing right field.
Monday’s Pitching Matchup:
Paul Maholm 7-12, 4.82 ERA
VS
Carlos Zambrano 5-6, 4.64 ERA
Maholm is 7-1 in 12 career starts against the Cubs with a 5.70 ERA. His last start on June 28th against Chicago, Paul gave up one run on seven hits through eight innings.
Zambrano has made four starts since returning to the rotation on Aug. 9. He is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA. On Tuesday against the Nationals, Carlos allowed one run on five hits through 7.1 innings.
Meek exits game early after being hit by line drive
In the eighth inning of the Pirates’ loss on Sunday afternoon, Evan Meek was hit in the right arm by a line drive by Ryan Braun.
Meek immediately fell to the ground, wincing in pain. Manager John Russell and the Pirates medical staff helped Meek up but Evan was noticeably favoring his right hand.
X-Rays came back negative, and showed no fracture. Meek is listed as day-to-day.
Morton hit hard, Bucs get swept by the Brew Crew, 8-4
Charlie Morton’s awaited start didn’t go very well. After being sent down to Triple-A Indy over three months ago, Morton was given his first start on Sunday afternoon against the Brewers.
During a pre-game interview, Morton said ”I feel like I’ve come a long way.” Unfortunately today, he seemed like the same ol’ Charlie we saw in the begining of the season.
He was pulled after throwing 82 pitches through 3.1 Innings, giving up nine hits, eight runs, seven earned, walked one and struck out two. With the Pirates loss, Morton falls to 1-10 with an 10.03 ERA. (allowing 52 earned runs on 75 hits over 46 2/3 innings)
“[Morton] just didn’t execute quality pitches,” Pirates manager John Russell said. “I think he threw a few too many offspeed pitches and didn’t really get aggressive with his fastball. Just not enough quality pitches. When he throws that many offspeed pitches, then he loses the aggressiveness of really being able to pound the zone.”
Three runs were surrendered in the first inning. After allowing back-to-back singles and a walk, Dickerson hit a two-RBI single and a wild pitch scored McGehee.
Charlie seemed to have calmed down in the second inning, allowing just one hit — a double by Kottaras– then retired the next three batters.
Morton was hit hard in the third inning allowing three more runs to score, although, this time it wasn’t all his fault. Ryan Braun reached first base on an error by Ronny Cedeno and a passed ball by Ryan Doumit were the factors in two of the runs. Escobar and Kottaras both hit RBI singles, giving the Brewers a 6-2 lead.
Charlie was pulled in the fourth inning after giving up a two-run home run to Ryan Braun (his 19th of the season).
“Early on, they seemed to be on my four-seamer pretty good,” Morton said. “I was throwing my sinker, but I was falling behind in some counts. With my sinker, I was inducing less firm contact, but I got beat bad on a couple curveballs I left up in the zone.”
I hope that JR gives Charlie another start. You probally are thinking I’m crazy, but hear me out. Morton was being caught by Ryan Doumit and let’s face it we know he is a horrible game caller. With Chris Snyder’s experience I would like to see how he would pitch with Chris being behind the plate. Throughout the game I noticed Morton shaking off Doumit a lot. Not only were they not on the same page, I can only imagine that doesn’t boost his confidence and only ads frustration.
Neil Walker hit a two-run home run in the first inning of Dave Bush. (Back-to-back homer nights for Walker who is batting .369 with runners on base)
In the second inning with two men on base, Cedeno at the plate and the pitchers spot up next, Ronny decided to bunt. I may not be a baseball player but I do know that is a very stupid idea. I’m not sure if that call was from the bench (god help us if it was) but WHY, oh, WHY would Cedeno do that? He was obviously out at first base. Morton struck out and Tabata flied to center to end the inning and leave both Doumit and Milledge in scoring position.
Dave Bush gave up two more home runs during his seven innings, Doumit in the fourth and Young in the seventh inning. Bush has now given up 10 home runs this month and 25 on the season. He gave up three runs on seven hits, struck out four and walked two. Bush is 7-11 on the season.
There was a scary moment in the eighth inning when Evan Meek was hit in the right arm by a come-backer from Ryan Braun (As if I need another reason to hate him). At first it had looked like Meek was hit in the chest. He fell to the ground and after a minute was helped to his feet. Evan walked off the field with JR and the Pirates medical staff favoring his right hand. Thankfully, the X-rays came back negative and there was no fracture. Meek was diagnosed with a contusion on his right wrist.
Trevor Hoffman came into the ninth inning to pick up his 599th career save and the Bucs lost to the Brewers 8-4.
News and Notes:
- The Pirates starting pitching now has a record of 24-72. It is the first time since 1952 that the team have five 10 loss starters. (Duke 6-12, Maholm 7-12, Ohlendorf 1-11, Morton 1-10)
- The Pirates have now lost 13 straight on the road.
- Jhonatan Ramos promoted from State College to West Virginia.
Minor League Update:
- Matt Curry (16th round pick in the 2010 draft) at State College, 50 games: .295 AVG, 13 2B, 6HR, 25 RBI
Hitters:
- John Bowker .310 AVG, 17 HR, 44 RBI, .960 OPS
- Alex Presley .324 AVG, 12 HR, 79 RBI, .880 OPS
- Josh Harrison .298 AVG, 3 HR, 72 RBI, 17 SB
- Chase D’Arnaud .243 AVG, 4HR, 44 RBI, 32 SB
- Starling Marte .335 AVG, 2 HR, 36 RBI, 23 SB –Since return from the DL .381 AVG, 19RBI in 28 games
Pitchers:
- Rudy Owens 11-6, 2.56 ERA, 0.99 WHIP
- Justin Wilson 10-7, 3.12 ERA, .216 OPP AVG
- Bryan Morris 9-4, 3.12 ERA, 120 K
- Jeff Locke 12-4, 3.24 ERA, 1.12 WHIP
- Zach Von Rosenberg 1-6, 3.20 ERA, 1.24 WHIP
PIT @ MIL 8/29 2:10
Pirates Lineup:
Tabata 8, Young 9, Walker 4, Jones 3, Alvarez 5, Doumit 2, Milledge 7, Cedeno 6, Morton 1
*Andrew McCutchen gets some much needed rest today. He is 8-for-38 (barely hitting over the Mendoza line) in his last 10 games with six strike outs.
**Garrett Jones has really been slumping. 4-for-38 with 11 strike outs in his last 10 games. The problem is there isn’t many options to give Jones rest. Clement in on the DL, Andy LaRoche started at first base once this season. Until John Bowker is called-up from AAA (and saves us all!) the only other option is Ryan Doumit and we all know how awful that went.
Brewers Lineup:
Weeks 4, Inglett 9, Braun 7, Fielder 3, McGehee 5, Dickerson 8, Escobar 6, Kottaras 2, Bush 1
Seventh inning blunders cost bucs, lose 8-7 in 11.
The seventh inning seems to be haunting the Pirates as of late. For the second game in a row, the Pirates allowed the seventh to get out of hand giving the Brewers the chance to win the game.
“We always know every time we come here it’s going to be a battle,” Walker said. “Four-run lead, three-run lead, whatever it may be, it’s never safe here when we play these guys.”
The Pirates entered the seventh inning with a 7-4 lead over the Brewers, but with the lineup the Brewers have, it’s never enough. Sean Gallagher gave up the lead-off single. Lefty Brian Burres was brought in to face the heart of the lineup. Prince Fielder launched a massive home run –estimated at 455 feet– bringing the game within one run. Chan Ho Park entered the inning four batters later, attempting to get out of the inning with the lead. Pedro Alvarez was charged with a fielding error at third base (10th this season), allowing Cain to score and tie the game at 7.
“It’s a tough play, but again, it kind of shows our youth a little bit,” said Pirates manager John Russell. “We make those plays and it might be a different game, but the guys really battled. They kept after it.”
After 14 pitchers were used, 21 position players and more than four hours later, the game finally ended in the 11th inning. Wil Ledema was on the mound. Neil Walker made the second costly error of the game (his first since July 4th), allowing Prince Fielder to get on first base, what could have been a double play. Instead, the Rookie–Lorenzo Cain– hit a walk-off home run and the Brewers won 8-7.
“It’s a tough play, but again, it kind of shows our youth a little bit,” said Pirates manager John Russell. “We make those plays and it might be a different game, but the guys really battled. They kept after it.”
The Pirates roughed up starter, Chris Capuano. They sent him packing after just three innings and 75 pitches. Capuano gave up six runs on six hits, walked three and struck out five.
Jose Tabata continued to be a hitting machine. He homered in the first inning and went 3-for-6 with two RBI on the night.
The offense didn’t stop there. Chris Synder hit a three-run home run in the third inning (He also hit a home run in Friday’s game) 1-for-3 on the night with two walks. Neil Walker went 3-for-6, with a solo home run in the seventh.
The Brewers sent Parra, McClendon, Coffey, Axford, Hoffman and Loe to the mound and through eight innings of relief, they only gave up five hits and one run.
Zach Duke pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits, walked one and struck out one.
“It’s tough coming in here, but we battled with them tonight,” Duke said. “Hopefully we can get one tomorrow.”
News and Notes:
- With the 8-7 loss, the Pirates have now lost 12 straight on the road.
- Chicks may dig the long ball, but apparently so does Miller Park. There was a total of six home runs last night (Tabata, Synder, Fielder (2), Lucroy, Walker). In the eight games this season at Miller Park against the Pirates they have hit 17 home runs.
- Sometimes Manager John Russell does things that really makes me scratch my head. Ryan Doumit has been awful against lefties this season, batting just .179 with a .252 OBP. So it made sense to start him against the left-handed starter, Chris Capuano right? Until John Bowker is called up in Septemeber (and saves us from the horrendous-ness that is Milledge and Doumit in right field) why not platoon the two in the time being?
Doumit VS RHP:
.284 AVG
.354 OBP
.479 SLG
.833 OPS
Milledge VS LHP:
.319 AVG
.409 OBP
.517 SLG
.926 OPS
- The Pirates used all but two pitchers in the 11 inning game (Meek and McCutchen) Meek was warming up in the ’pen. Duke, Burres, Park, Hanrahan, Resop, Ledezma combined for 15 hits and eight runs.
- Hanrahan pitched a scoreless eight inning. He struck out the first two batters, walked Braun but struck out Prince Fielder swinging with a 97 mph heater to end the inning. NASTY.
- The Pirates are 4-5 in extra inning games, while the Brewers are 6-4.
- Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen both were o’fers on the night. Jones 0-for-6, McCutchen 0-for-5. GFJ is just 11-for-96.
- The Pirates are 5-12 against the Brewers this season, 17-45 since 2007.
- (Via @BucsInsider) Since his 6/9 recall Jose Tabata is tied with Albert Pujols for most hits (87) in NL.
Minor League Update:
- Brandon Moss: 1-for-4, 2R, HR (21), 3RBI
- Jeff Locke 6IP, 5H, 1ER, 5K, 1BB
- Starling Marte (Double header) 3-for-8, 3RBI, SB, 4R
Sunday’s Pitching Matchup:
Charlie Morton 1-9, 9.35 ERA
VS
Dave Bush
Morton is making his first start in the majors since May 27th. In 80 innings pitched and 18 starts Charlie was 4-4, 3.83 ERA with 53 K and 30 BB for Triple-A Indy. Morton is 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA career against the Brewers.
Bush is 3-6 with a 4.84 ERA at Miller Park this season. In 14 career starts against the Pirates he is 5-5 with a 4.61 ERA.
Pirates @ Brewers 8/28 7:10 PM
Pirates Lineup:
McCutchen 8
Tabata 7
Walker 4
Jones 3
Alvarez 5
Doumit 9
Cedeno 6
Snyder 2
Duke 1
Brewers Lineup:
Weeks 4
Hart 9
Braun 7
Fielder 3
McGehee 5
Cain 8
Escobar 6
Lucroy 2
Capuano 1
News and Notes:
- The Altoona Curve needs five more wis to clinch an Eastern League playoffs spot.
-
The Pirates re-called Charlie Morton from Triple-A Indy and will make the start at Miller Park on Sunday. Morton’s last start in the majors was on May 27, 2010. In 14 starts with the Indians he went 4-4 with a 3.83 ERA, including 53 strikeouts and 30 walks.
The Pirates optioned LHP Justin Thomas to Triple-A Indy to make room for Morton.
Dana Eveland will take the spot in the rotation from Charlie Morton for the Indians.
Why aren’t Walker and Tabata in the ROY discussions?
Last Saturday when I was in the Pirates Press Box I snagged some of the Stat sheets full of goodies. Now, I know these stats are from a week ago so they may vary a little now, but both Neil Walker and Jose Tabata are in most of the Rookies stat leaders lists. I’m not necessarily saying that either player should win the NL Rookie of the year but shouldn’t they at least be in the discussions?
- Batting AVG-
Neil Walker (T-5th) .296
Jose Tabata (T-5th) .296
- Home Runs-
Neither Walker or Tabata make the list but Pedro Alvarez ranks 6th with 10.
- Multi-Hit Games-
Neil Walker (7th) 23
Jose Tabata (T-8th) 22
- Runs-
Jose Tabata (T-6th) 37
Neil Walker (7th) 33
- Hits-
Neil Walker (7th) 80
Jose Tabata (8th) 74
- Total Bases-
Neil Walker (10th) 116
- Grand Slams-
Neither Walker or Tabata but Pedro made the list again (2nd) with 1.
- Doubles-
Neil Walker (4th) 19
- Stolen Bases-
Jose Tabata (2nd) 12
- Hitting Streaks-
Jose Tabata (T-3rd) 12, 07/20-08/01
- Walks-
Neither Walker or Tabata but Pedro Alvarez is tied at 5th with 25.
- OBP
Jose Tabata (7th) .348
Neil Walker (8th) .344
- SLG
Neil Walker (T-7th) .430
Pedro Alvarez (9th) .426
- XBH
Neil Walker (8th) 25
- Outfield Assists
Jose Tabata (5th) 2
Kristy Robinson
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