Results tagged ‘ jeff karstens ’
Bucs five run 1st, Karstens solid in 7-2 win over Nats
The Pittsburgh Pirates rallied off of veteran right-hander Livan Hernandez for a five run first inning in the 7-2 victory at PNC Park on Saturday.
Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata started the inning off with back-to-back hits, Tabata’s a double, to quickly put two runners on, with no outs. Lyle Overbay hit a RBI single and Garrett Jones hit a RBI double off the right field wall, his first double of the season as well as his first hit at PNC Park this year. Ryan Doumit hit a RBI single, giving the Bucs a 3-0 lead. Pedro Alvarez grounded out to second base, scoring Garrett Jones. Ronny Cedeno singled to tack on the fifth run of the inning before Pitcher Jeff Karstens struck out to end the frame.
Nine men came to the plate and five runs scored on six hits off Hernandez in the 1st.
The Nationals cut the lead 5-1, with a leadoff double by former Bucco Adam LaRoche and a RBI single by Michael Morse in the 2nd inning.
McCutchen drew a six pitch walk in the bottom of the 2nd inning. He swiped second base and advanced to third on the error throw. Tabata hit a sac fly up against the right field wall to give the Bucs a 6-1 lead.
McCutchen told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, A lot of times, when I hit third, I just didn’t have any opportunity (to steal). Being the leadoff guy, you’ll have little more of an opportunity to steal bases in certain situations. It helps out.”
Jayson Werth hit a solo-home run in the 4th inning off Jeff Karstens (the second home run he has given up this season).
McCutchen and Tabata drew back-to-back walks in the 6th inning, and Overbay hit an RBI single to tack on another run for the Bucs.
Hernandez, who was making his 450th consecutive start since debuting with the Florida Marlins in 1996, was charged with seven runs (four earned) over six innings with four walks and two strikeouts.
Right-hander Jeff Karstens was solid in his second spot start in place of Ross Ohlendorf (right shoulder posterior strain). Over six-plus innings, Karstens allowed just two runs on six hits with one walk and three strikeouts (85 pitches). He picked up his second win on the season.
Karstens was pulled after giving up back-to-back hits in the 7th inning. Reliever Chris Resop entered the game with runners on the corners with no outs. The righty struck out the first two batters and got pinch hitter Matt Stairs to line out to third to end the inning, unscathed.
With the 7-2 win, the Pirates picked up their second home victory at PNC Park this season. They were 1-5 during the previous homestand.
Pregame News and Notes: Nats @ Pirates 4/23
The Pittsburgh Pirates will face the Washington Nationals at 7:05 PM ET.
Right-hander Jeff Karstens (1-0, 4.50 ERA) will start for the Bucs against Livan Hernandez (2-1, 2.88 ERA).
Karstens spot started for Ross Ohlendorf (right shoulder posterior strain) on Sunday against the Reds. He allowed five runs on eight hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 4.1 innings. It will be his second start (five appearance) this season.
Hernandez is coming off a great start against the Brewers. He allowed just one run on six hits over seven innings with no walks and three strikeouts.
News and Notes:
- Infielder Brandon Wood arrived in Pittsburgh in the early am on Saturday. He took a red eye from California to get to PNC Park before the game today. Although he’s not in the starting lineup today, he is excited for his opportunity.
Wood told Colin Dunlap of the Post-Gazette, “The Angels had to make a move, I understand that. Now, for me, this is an unbelievable opportunity. I’m fortunate for my time and my opportunity with the Angels, I am. But now, this is an all new opportunity and, really, a chance to redeem myself.”
“I talked to Neal Huntington and Clint Hurdle and I can tell this is an organization that wants me and is working toward the right direction. They want to succeed and they want to add me to it.”
“When it comes to hitting, Clint is one of the best to work with. He has a great reputation and he’s developed a lot of young guys and made a lot of players better. Just look at what he did with the young players in Colorado. He’s a guy I want to work with and I want to have him involved with helping me improve. Like I said, I just can’t wait to get there and get a uniform and get to work.”
- With Wood arriving to Pittsburgh, Pedro Ciriaco was optioned to Triple-A.
Pirates:
Andrew McCutchen CF, Jose Tabata LF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Garrett Jones RF, Ryan Doumit C, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ronny Cedeno SS, Jeff Karstens RHP
Nationals:
Danny Espinosa 2B, Rick Ankiel CF, Jayson Werth RF, Adam LaRoche 1B, Wilson Ramos C, Michael Morse LF, Ian Desmond (SS), Jerry Hairston 3B, Livan Hernandez RHP
Pirates finding success on the road
Despite losing 6-0 to the Marlins on Tuesday evening, the Pirates have been successful on the road this season. The Bucs are 7-4 away from PNC Park this year. A huge difference from 2010 when the Bucs went 17-64 on the road.
The Pirates have won all three of their road series (Cubs, Cardinals, Reds) –the first time they have three straight series wins on the road since April of 2002.
So what is the team doing differently this year?
Manager Clint Hurdle told David Villavicencio of MLB.com, “We’ve tried to simplify it. You throw first-pitch strikes, get the first batter of an inning out, and on offense you get the first hitter on base. When there are opportunities to score, you get them in. These are the baseball staples.
“I wasn’t here last year but I know these are some areas that we weren’t very good in. They’ve taken it to heart that for us to go where we want to go, we’ve got to become a much better ballclub on the road. We’ve gotten out of the blocks pretty clean so far. There are a lot of games left to play, but I’m pleased with the effort and the attitude on the road, and I anticipate it will turn around back home when we get there.”
Notes:
- Third baseman Pedro Alvarez was back in the lineup on Tuesday, after getting the day off on Monday. Alvarez was moved down the order, batting in the seventh spot –for the first time in his career.
Hurdle told David Villavicencio of MLB.com, “There is ownership to a lineup, and you give guys the opportunity to move, and when guys aren’t getting things done, you shuffle them around. I’m going to be proactive rather than reactive with it. Right now, Jones has earned five and Pedro has earned seven.”
- Right-hander Jeff Karstens will start for the Pirates on Friday against the Washington Nationals in D.C. Karstens will make his second spot start for Ross Ohlendorf (right shoulder posterior strain) who was placed on the disabled list (April 9th).
- Jose Ascanio (right elbow tightness) was scheduled to make a rehab appearance for Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday but the game was postponed due to weather
Ohlendorf out until at least mid may
Right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, who was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder posterior strain, expects to be out until at least mid May.
Ohlendorf told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune on Monday, “Hopefully, I’ll be back in about a month. But it’s still too early to really know for sure.”
Ohlendorf was pulled after throwing 2.2 innings on April 8th against the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park after feeling discomfort.
Sunday, Ohlendorf made 50 tosses from 60 feet on flat ground. He is scheduled to throw from 75 feet today.
Ohlendorf told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, I need to get up to 120 feet, and the plan for that is about two weeks from now.
Right-handers Jeff Karstens and Brad Lincoln (Triple-A Indianapolis) and lefty Brian Burres (Triple-A) are being considered to start in the rotation.
Karstens allowed five runs on eight hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 4.1 innings against the Reds. It was his first start of the season.
Lincoln allowed three runs on six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over five innings against the Louisville bats on April 15th.
Burres is not on the 40-man roster, so if they Pirates went with the lefty, they would have remove someone off the roster. Burres threw a four hit shutout with no walks and eight strikeouts over seven innings against the Louisville Bats on April 17th.
Pirates hang on to win see-saw game against Reds, 7-6
The Pittsburgh Pirates hung on to win a back-and-forth game, that was headlined by Andrew McCutchen’s big day at the plate, against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon, 7-6.
Mccutchen went 3-for-3 with two walks, a home run, two RBI and a run scored.
McCutchen told Lacee Collins of Root Sports, “It was definitely good…Just to be able to come through. I couldn’t do it without the guys getting on base. We just played a hard nine innings today and that’s what we have to do against a team like the Reds. They are a great team. They pitch well, they hit well, so we just have to play hard nine innings and we were able to do that today.”
“I’m just comfortable in general,” McCutchen said when asked if he was comfortable batting lead-off. “It doesn’t matter where I’m at, I’m just comfortable. I’m starting to feel better, starting to feel good…and watch out!”
The Pirates quickly got to Edison Volquez in the 1st inning. Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata hit back-to-back homers to give the Bucs a 2-0 lead. It marked the first time the Pirates have lead-off a game with back-to-back homers since July 5, 1982 and just the third time in Franchise history.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Root Sports, “It was an awful good game for him [McCutchen]. He’s been working hard, battling and believing in himself…This kid’s a good player. He was the aggressor today across the board for us in offense. We need him to go at the top.”
The runs didn’t stop there. Volquez walked Lyle Overbay and Neil Walker doubled off the wall -his fifth double this season. Garrett Jones drew a walk to load the bases. Chris Syder walked to bring home a run and Ronny Cedeno hit a sac fly, giving the Bucs a 4-0 lead. Volquez threw 33 pitches in the frame and faced nine batters. His first inning ERA shot up to 29.25 this season. Volquez ERA after the first inning? Just 1.93.
Jeff Karstens left a slider down the middle of the plate, and Jonny Gomes hit a solo home run to cut the lead to 4-1 in the 2nd inning. It was the third homer by Gomes in the past two games against the Pirates.
Karstens got Scott Rolen and Jonny Gomes to strike out, then he allowed three straight hits and a run to score in the 4th.
After pitching four good innings, Karstens ran into trouble in the 5th. He gave up a solo-home run to Miguel Cairo to bring the game within one run. Scott Rolen hit a RBI double to tie the game at four. Manager Clint Hurdle brought in Daniel McCutchen from the ‘pen, and he allowed a single by Jay Bruce to score Rolen, the go-ahead run.
Karstens allowed five runs on eight hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 4.1 innings (76 pitches).
The Pirates fought back in the 6th inning. Garrett Jones -who finished the day 2-for-4 with a run, a walk and a RBI — hit his third homer of the season to tie the game back up at 5. It was the third home run that Volquez gave up to the Bucs in the game.John Bowker hit a pinch-hit two-out double off the center field wall to score Ronny Cedeno and put the Bucs back on top, 6-5.
Volquez allowed six runs on five hits with six walks and six strikeouts over 5.2 innings.
Jay Bruce hit a 1-1 fastball off Jose Veras for a solo-shot in the 7th inning to tie the game at 6.
McCutchen singled off of Logan Ondrusek to center field to score Chris Snyder in the 8th and put the Pirates back on top for what would be the game winning run. Ondrusek suffered his first loss of his career after winning seven straight.
Joel Hanrahan was called upon for a five out save in the 8th inning with runners on first and second with one out. Hanrahan threw just four pitches as Rolen lined out to shortstop Cedeno, who doubled off Cairo at second base to end the threat, and inning.
With a one run lead, the inning was a bit wild for Hanrahan. With one out, Jay Bruce singled on a ground ball. Catcher Chris Snyder threw the ball over the head of first baseman Lyle Overbay but Neil Walker was behind the bag to retrieve it. He then threw the ball to Overbay, who tagged Bruce out after he rounded the bag toward second.
Hanrahan allowed back-to-back singles to Edgar Renteria and Paul Janish and threw a wild pitch to advance both runners. Ryan Hanigan then drew a walk to load the bases. Hanrahan fell behind 2-0 to Jay Bruce, but got him to fly out to center to end the ballgame.
Chris Resop told Root Sports, A crazy game, but in the end we won. It got a little scary in the end there, but hey, it’s part of the game.”
Hanrahan picked up his fifth save as the Pirates beat the Reds, 7-6. If the Bucs can defeat the Reds on Monday, it will mark their third road series win this season.
Pre-game News and Notes: Pirates @ Reds 4/17
The Pittsburgh Pirates (6-8) will face the Cincinnati Reds (9-5) at 1:10 PM ET.
Right-hander Jeff Karstens will start for the Bucs against righty Edison Volquez.
Karstens is spot starting for Ross Ohlendorf, who was placed on the Disabled list with right shoulder posterior strain. Karstens, who is the Pirates “swing-man”, threw 67 pitches over 3.1 innings on April 8th (after Ohlendorf was pulled from the game with his injury), so he should be able to throw at least 70 pitches this afternoon. This will be his first start this season.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, “We’ll see what he can give us, how efficient he can be with the number of pitches he’s got. I don’t want to put a number on it. Can he get to 100? I think that’d be a stretch. Can he throw more than 70? I believe so.”
Volquez was originally supposed to start on Saturday, but was pushed back a day due to a stiff neck. He picked up his second win of the season against the San Diego Padres his last start. Volquez allowed three runs (two earned) with three walks and five strikeouts over six innings.
News and Notes:
- Swinging a hot bat: Garrett Jones. After going .172 in his first 10 games, Jones has gone 4-for-6 with a home run and two RBI.
- The 7th best prospect in the Pirates system, Rudy Owens, picked up his second win of the season yesterday for the Triple-A Indians. He alowed just one run over 6.1 innings – -five of them were no hit ball.
- The Pirates’ 2010 first-round Draft pick, Jameson Taillon, pitched five scoreless innings in an extended Spring Training game yesterday. Taillon is throwing in extended spring training before joining the Low-A West Virginia Power rotation later this season.
- Jose Tabata is tied for second in the National League with seven stolen bases. Andrew McCutchen swiped his first bag on Saturday, he stole 37 bases last season.
- Speaking of Jose Tabata, he has been putting in extensive work with first-base coach Luis Silverio. MAnager Clint Hurdle has said that he wants his players to be aggressive. Tabata, has stolen seven bases in 13 games this season.
Silverio told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “That was one of the things he told me early, that he had problem reading pitchers. Now, he feels really confident that when he takes off, he’s going to make it. After a couple of steps, he maximizes his speed. He has explosive speed. He just doesn’t look like it.”
Pirates:
Andrew McCutchen CF, Jose Tabata LF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Garrett Jones RF, Chris Snyder C, Ronny Cedeno SS, Jeff Karstens RHP
Reds:
Drew Stubbs CF, Miguel Cairo 2B, Joey Votto 1B, Scott Rolen 3B, Jonny Gomes LF, Jay Bruce RF, Ramon Hernandez C, Paul Janish SS, Edinson Volquez RHP
Pre-game news and notes: Pirates @ Reds 4/16
The Pirates (6-7) will face the Cincinnati Reds (8-5) at 1:10 PM ET today for the second of a four-game series at Great American Ball Park.
Right-hander James McDonald (0-0, 5.56 ERA) will start for the Bucs against righty Mike Leake (0-1, 6.75 ERA)
McDonald threw 38 pitches in the first frame against the Colorado Rockies in his previous start, but settled in and pitched 6.2 innings. The four runs McDonald allowed in the first were the only runs the Rockies scored off him until the 7th inning (Two runs scored off Rookie Mike Crotta, one earned by McDonald). He struck out three and walked three during his outing.
Leake allowed six runs on nine hits over 4.2 innings his last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He walked two and struck out four.
Leake was scheduled to throw on Sunday but was bumped up a day. Edinson Volquez was pushed to because of a stiff neck.
- With the Pirates 6-1 win last night over the Reds, the Bucs snapped a four-game losing streak. They also improved their road record to 5-2.
- The Pirates pitching staff ranks third in the National League with a 3.23 ERA. The only two staffs with better numbers are the San Diego Padres (2.70 ERA) and the Milwaukee Brewers (2.96 ERA).
- Second baseman Neil Walker batted cleanup for the first time in his career. He went 1-for-4 with a two-run homerun and a walk.
- Jose Tabata had his first career four-hit game in Friday’s game. He also swiped his seventh bag (in eight attempts).
News:
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com pointed out that earlier this morning, Andrew McCutchen’s name plate above his locker read: McKKKKutchen (He struck out four times in yesterday’s game). McCutchen took the gag in good spirits. It’s great to see the players and the clubhouse so loose.
- The Pirates named Right-hander Jeff Karstens as the starter for Sunday’s game against the Reds. Although it was assumed, Manager Clint Hurdle made the announcement on Friday. Karstens will be taking the place of Ross Ohlendorf, who went on the disabled list with right shoulder posterior strain.
- Manager Clint Hurdle threw out the same lineup top of the order today. Andrew McCutchen will bat leadoff, followed by Jose Tabata second, Lyle Overbay third, Neil Walker fourth and Pedro Alvarez fifth.
Hurdle told Doug Miller of MLB.com, “I try to be more proactive than reactive. Normally, whenever I make a move with a player or group of players, I have a conversation with them about it. I thought about it overnight. We had a good first week, we had a bad second week. I pay attention to numbers, but I also rely quite a lot on my eyes and my gut. In watching those four guys, I thought if I could rearrange them, it would be best for the group.”
- Right-hander Charlie Morton threw his second career complete game last night. He allowed just one run on five hits over nine innings. He also threw 110 pitches, 73 for strikes.
Morton told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “It was a day that I will remember forever.”
Pirates:
Andrew McCutchen CF, Jose Tabata LF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C, Garrett Jones RF, Ronny Cedeno SS, James McDonald RHP
Reds:
Drew Stubbs CF, Miguel Cairo 2B, Joey Votto 1B, Jonny Gomes LF, Jay Bruce RF, Juan Francisco 3B, Ramon Hernandez C, Paul Janish SS, Mike Leake RHP
Pre-game News and Notes 4/13: Brewers @ Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates (5-5) will face the Milwaukee Brewers (5-5) at 7:05 for the first of a now two-game series.
Tuesday’s game was postponed due to rain. It will be made up on August 22 in part of a double-header. The first game will begin at 5:05 p.m. ET.
Right-hander Kevin Correia will face righty Shaun Marcum.
Correia out dueled Chris Carpenter during his last start pitching a seven inning shutout, limiting the Cardinals to just five hits while walking two and striking out three. Correia has been the Bucs most consistent starter this season. He even pitched an inning of relief during Friday’s 14-inning marathon game. Correia has allowed two earned runs over two starts (three appearances), 14 innings.
Marcum allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts over six innings against the Atlanta Braves his last start. Marcum is still working on his command after missing his next-to-last spring start with a stiff shoulder.
News:
- Jeff Karstens will no longer start in the rotation behind Kevin Correia and Paul Maholm (Thursday) because of the rainout, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.
Instead, Charlie Morton will pitch on Friday and James McDonald will go on Saturday. Sunday’s starter is still listed as TBD.
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com also reports that reliever Evan Meek has been cleared and is ready to go out of the bullpen tonight.
- Lefty Joe Beimel reported to have no issues on Wednesday after pitching on back-to-back days for the Triple-A Indians.
Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that the Pirates want Beimel to have two days off to make sure he doesn’t have any negative effects.
Beimel could be with the big league team as early as Friday.
- After seeing video footage of Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers sliding head first into home plate on Tuesday, Manager Clint Hurdle discussed to the players the dangers of the head-first slide. Hamilton will be out six to eight weeks with a shoulder fracture.
Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “You are very susceptible to injury, especially at home plate. I understand why people do it. I’m just not a big fan of it.”
Brewers:
Rickie Weeks 2B, Carlos Gomez CF, Ryan Braun LF, Prince Fielder 1B, Casey McGehee 3B, Mark Kotsay RF, Yuniesky Betancourt SS, Jonathan Lucroy C, Shaun Marcum RHP
Pirates:
Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Matt Diaz RF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Ryan Doumit C Ronny Cedeno SS, Kevin Correia RHP
Karstens will start against Reds
Right-hander Jeff Karstens will start against the Cincinnati Reds, filling in for Ross Ohlendorf who was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder posterior strain.
Manager Clint Hurdle announced his decision to place Karstens in the rotation but it is still undetermined which of the three game series against the Reds he will start (April 15-18).
The plan was for Karstens to pitch on Thursday, in the third game against the Milwaukee Brewers but plans where changed because of the rain postponement tonight.
Karstens, who serves as the teams long reliever, threw 3.1 innings (67 pitches) in relief on Friday after Ohlendorf was pulled from the game with his injury.
Karstens is up for any task the Pirates ask of him. He appeared in 26 games with the Bucs last year, 19 of them starts.
“I’m just used to the role,” Karstens told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. “I roll out of bed with a smile on my face. I get to put the big league uniform on every day and I’m proud of that.”
Right-hander Daniel McCutchen will serve as the long inning man with Karstens in the rotation.
*Photo credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Brewers @ Pirates 4/12: Postponed by rain
Tonight’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers was postponed due to rain. The Pirates have not yet announced when it will be made up.
- The pitching match up for the next two games versus the Brewers are as follows:
Wednesday, April 13th: Right-hand pitcher Shaun Marcum vs. Righty Kevin Correia
Thursday, April 14th: Left-hand pitcher Randy Wolf vs. Lefty Paul Maholm
- The Pirates announced that right-hander Jeff Karstens will take Ross Ohlendorf’s (15-day disabled list) spot in the rotation on Friday in Cincinnati –at least for one turn, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune.
- Evan Meek threw on the side on Monday and told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com that he expects to be ready to go on Wednesday.
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com also reports that both Chris Snyder and Joe Beimel are just a few days away from being with the big league club.
Snyder (lower back) has caught five straight games with the Bradenton Marauders and has not had any back soreness that sidelined him this spring.
Beimel (left elbow) threw again today, marking the first time he has thrown on back-to-back days this year. In the two appearances, Beimel faced the minimum (six) with three strike outs.
Manager Clint Hurdle said the club wants to see how Beimel feels tomorrow before the decide his next step.
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that:
Fans with tickets to Tuesday’s game are free to exchange those tickets to any Sunday through Thursday home game this season, expect the June 5 game against the Phillies and the June 26 one against the Red Sox.
Kristy Robinson
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