Results tagged ‘ pedro alvarez ’
Four run 3rd hurts Correia in Bucs 6-3 loss to Nats
Fresh off a complete game win against the Brewers, the Washington Nationals rallied off right-hander Kevin Correia for a four run 3rd to beat the Bucs, 6-3 at PNC Park on Easter Sunday.
Andrew McCutchen leadoff the 1st with a double (his forth of the season) off the right field wall. McCutchen advanced to third on a ground out by Jose Tabata and scored on a RBI single by Neil Walker to left to take a 1-0 lead.
Correia threw a 1-2-3 1st inning. After allowing back-to-back singles in the 2nd, with one out he escaped out of the jam by getting two ground outs.
Unfortunately for Correia, he was unable to escape the 3rd inning cleanly. Back-to-back singles by Jason Marquis and Danny Espinosa with a six pitch walk to Rick Ankiel loaded the bases with no outs.
Jayson Werth grounded to Pedro Alvarez at third base, who threw home to get the force out. Adam LaRoche grounded to first base, scoring Espinosa and trying the game at 1.
It didn’t stay tied for long, as Michael Morse took a fastball into the left field seats for a three-run homer, giving the Nats a 4-1 lead.
Correia told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, It was just one of those that got away at the wrong time. I was trying to throw a fastball in and it didn’t move like I wanted it to. That guy is dangerous, and I know that. You can’t miss over the plate. It just wasn’t what I was expecting out of the pitch.”
Correia allowed another hit before getting Jerry Hariston (the eighth man to come to the plate) to ground out and end the inning.
Garrett Jones drew a leadoff walk and Pedro Alvarez doubled in the 4th. Chris Snyder hit a sac fly and Ronny Cedeno singled. The two runs brought the Bucs within one run.
Former Bucco Adam LaRoche homered off Coreia in 5th to give the Nationals a 5-3 advantage.
Correia was charged with five runs on 11 hits with one walk and two strikeouts over 4.2 innings (84 pitches).
The score remained the same until the 8th when the Nationals tacked on another run, a RBI double by Laynce Nix.
McCutchen told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “We felt like we were in the game the whole time today. We just weren’t able to get those few extra runs.”
The Pirates drop to 9-12 on the season. They will face the Nationals on Monday for the rubber match of the series.
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.
McDonald struggles, Pirates swept by Marlins
Coming off back-to-back shutouts, the Pirates were looking to end the final game on the road on a high note before heading back to Pittsburgh on Friday. The Bucs finally put some runs on the board, but right-hander James McDonald was chased from the game after just three innings in the 9-5 loss to the Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium on Thursday.
Pedro Alvarez, who didn’t have a RBI in the past 15 games, hit a bullet –estimated at 435 ft– into right field for a solo-home run off Chris Volstad in the 2nd inning. It was Alvarez’s first home run of the season. That one swing also ended the Pirates 23.2 consecutive scoreless inning streak.
Alvarez, who went 3-for-4, was just a triple short from the cycle.
Alvarez told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, It was just a matter of time before some balls fell in. I’ve been constantly working on my approach, working on my routine. There really haven’t been too many changes (to the swing). Just trying to see the ball better, basically.”
The Marlins got to McDonald early, scoring five runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning.
After allowing a lead-off walk to Gaby Sanchez, Greg Dobbs singled to center field. Mike Stanton drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. Scott Cousins hit a grand slam –his first major league career homer– to quickly give the Marlins a 4-1 lead.
McDonald told David Villavicencio of MLB.com, “It was basically right down the middle. I’m not saying he [Cousins] wouldn’t have done the same thing but if I would have thrown a quality pitch down and away I would have had a better shot of getting a ground ball and reducing damage than I would have by throwing a belt-high fastball down the middle.”
With one on and one out, McDonald hit Emilio Bonifacio by a pitch. Omar Infante singled to load the bases (for the second time in the inning). Hanley Ramirez grounded into a force out, but a run scored, giving the Marlins a 5-1 lead.
More trouble came for McDonald in the 3rd, after issuing a leadoff walk to Stanton, Cousins doubled and Bret Hayes hit a three-run homer for a 8-1 lead.
McDonald retired the next two batters to get out of the inning, but was replaced by Daniel McCutchen in the 4th.
McDonald allowed eight runs on six hits (including two home runs) with three walks and three strike outs over three innings.
Manager Clint Hurdle told David Villavicencio of MLB.com, “A swinging bat is a dangerous bat. And pitches, when they’re not located where they’re supposed to be, guys hit them. We had three first home runs of the year. We gave up eight out of nine runs on home runs.”
The Pirates rallied in the 6th inning. Lyle Overbay singled and Neil Walker and Garrett Jones drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Pedro Alvarez and Chris Snyder each hit RBI singles and Josh Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to cut the lead, 9-5.
The Bucs had just one hit over the final three innings as they went on to lose 9-5.
With the 9-5 loss, the Pirates were swept for the first time this season. The Bucs drop to 8-11 on the season.
“It’s never good to lose three games in a row,” Alvarez said. “But the beauty of it is, tomorrow we get to go out again and try to win a ballgame.”
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
Seven run rally, homers, hurt Bucs in 11-2 loss
The Cincinnati Reds rallied to score seven runs off the Pirates pitching staff in the 5th inning in the 11-2 win at Great American Ballpark on Saturday afternoon.
Miguel Cairo reached base on an error by third baseman Pedro Alvarez in the 5th inning, and that’s when right-hander James McDonald ran into trouble. Joey Votto singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. McDonald got Jonny Gomes to strike out swinging and intentionally walked Jay Bruce to load the bases with one out.
After getting behind in the count, 3-1, Juan Francisco hit a single to right field to score Cairo. McDonald left a fastball up over the heart of the plate and Ramon Hernandez hit it into the second deck in left field for a grand slam.
James McDonald told Root Sports, “I didn’t throw the ball well. Bad game.”
“I think I was missing over the plate too much today, gave them good pitches to hit. “
McDonald was pulled from the game in the 5th after throwing 90 pitches. He allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Root Sports, “I saw him throw six of the cleanest innings you ever want to throw for 5 2/3′s the last time out. So, it’s there. I think this is part of the growth that you are going to see from time to time at the major league level. [When] you leave balls elevated in the big leagues, up in the strike zone, more often than not, they end up in the seats. Or there is damage done, and that’s what happened today.”
So what exactly does McDonald need to work on to bounce back for his next start against the Florida Marlins?
McDonald told Root Sports, “First things first is getting past [my] last outing, refresh your mind and get ready and get prepared for the next start. So that starts tomorrow. I’ll go look at film, start looking at the other things the next team is doing, prepare myself for that game. I think the biggest thing I need to do is focus on my next outing and leave this one there.”
The trouble for the pirates pitching staff didn’t end there. Rookie Mike Crotta came in for relief and allowed a two-run homer to Drew Stubs to give the Reds a 9-2 lead. Crotta’s homer was the first the Bucs bullpen has given up this season. They were one of just two teams in the majors to not allow a home run. A total of seven runs scored and 10 batters came to the plate in the 5th.
Two more runs scored in the 6th inning. Lefty Joe Beimel made his first appearance with the Pirates since 2003 and he allowed Joey Votto to hit a leadoff triple. Jonny Gomes hit a two-run home run — his second of the day, and the fourth homer allowed by the Bucs pitching staff.
Coming off of a great pitching performance by Charlie Morton the night before, James McDonald wasn’t aggressive from the get-go. His only 1-2-3 inning was in the first inning.
McDonald allowed Jonny Gomes to hit a solo homer to left in the 2nd inning to give the Reds a early 1-0 lead. He allowed at least two hits in each of the next four innings before being chased in the 5th after allowing seven runs (six earned).
The Pirates tacked on two runs in the 4th inning. Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez drew back-to-back walks and Ryan Doumit singled to load the bases. Garrett Jones drew a walk, which scored Walker and Ronny Cedeno hit a sac fly to tie the game at 2.
Mike Leake improved to 2-0 on the season. He allowed two runs on four hits over six innings with four walks.
Nine runs scored combined in the 5th and 6th innings. It marked the first road loss by a Pirates starter this season. The Pirates drop to 6-8 on the season and 5-3 on the road.
Morton throws complete game, Pirates beat Reds, 6-1
Charlie Morton was dominant on Friday night at Great American Ballpark in the 6-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
With two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, Morton was just one out away from picking up his second career complete game shutout.
That was until Jay Bruce took a 1-1 fastball to center field for a solo home run. Morton got the next batter, Miguel Cairo, to fly out to right field to end the game.
Morton threw 110 pitches, 81 for strikes and shined over nine innings holding the Reds to just the one run on five hits. Morton struck out three and walked two batters.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “There’s a lot of road in front of us, but he has been a focused young man from the first game that he pitched in Spring Training until now. Any time he doubts himself, all he needs to do is take a tape and look at this ballgame.”
Neil Walker added, “I’m no pitching coach, but watching him today from second base and seeing him continue to do the same thing over and over again and being successful doing it, that just tells you how good his stuff really is. I know this was a great, great confidence day for him, too.”
Morton picked up his second win of the season (three starts) and his ERA is 1.64.
Perhaps it was the shuffling of the Pirates lineup that got the bats swinging? Andrew McCutchen batted leadoff, followed by Jose Tabata second, Lyle Overbay third, Neil Walker fourth and Pedro Alvarez fifth. The Pirates hit two-home runs, four doubles and Tabata had a four hit night –the first of his career. He also swiped his seventh bag of the season (He has only be caught once this year).
The Bucs combined for six runs on 14 hits in the 6-1 win over the Reds. The victory snapped the four-game losing streak.
Neil Walker told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “I think we got into a spot there near the end of the [last] series where we were pressing and we thought we had to win. That makes it tough when you’re going up there and gripping the bat a little tighter. We definitely relaxed today and we stuck with our game plan.”
Garrett Jones hit a solo-home run off of Bronson Arroyo to right field in the 2nd inning to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
The Pirates tacked on another run in the 3rd. Lyle Overbay hit a single and Pedro Alvarez doubled before Jones was intentionally walked with the bases loaded. Chris Snyder hit a RBI single, giving the Bucs a two run lead.
Jose Tabata doubled in the 4th inning. Overbay, a career .409 hitter against the Reds, hit a singled to drive in Tabata. Neil Walker followed with a two-run homer to right field, putting the Bucs up, 5-0.
Bronson Arroyo was chased from the game after four innings. He allowed five runs on nine hits, throwing 92 pitches.
The Pirates tacked on a sixth run in the 9th when Snyder singled home Walker.
The Reds lone run came off the homer given up with two outs in the 9th. They combined for just five hits off of Morton.
The Pirates improve to 5-2 on the road this season.
Pre-game News and Notes 4/15: Brewers @ Pirates
The Pirates (5-6) will face the Milwaukee Brewers (6-5) on Thursday at 7:05 PM/ET for the final game of the home stand.
Following the game, the Bucs will fly to Cincinnati for a three-game series starting Friday against the Reds.
Lefty-hander Paul Maholm will face lefty Randy Wolf.
Maholm is 0-1 this season, despite only allowing three earned runs over 12.1 innings.
Notes:
- Jose Tabata’s 10-game hitting streak came to an end on Wednesday, after going 0-for-2 with two walks against the Brewers.
Manager Clint Hurdle was very impressed with Jose Tabata’s plate discipline during his final at-bat in the 8th inning yesterday. Tabata, with the 10-game hitting streak on the line, drew a six pitch walk.
Hurdle told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “I’m not saying it’s normal, but you’ll find players at times that will put individual accomplishments in front of the game from time to time. A young man going up there, knowing what he needed to do and got down early in the count… took a walk. He’ll have other 10-game hitting streaks. He’ll have longer ones than that. But it was very encouraging to see that that’s his mindset. His mindset is not that he can have an 11-game hitting streak.”
- Evan Meek pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning on Wednesday. It was his first appearance since April 6th (right shoulder tightness).
News:
- Catcher Chris Snyder is back in Pittsburgh tonight and will be the lineup tonight. Snyder was activated from the disabled list on Wednesday.
- Left-hander Joe Beimel should be joining the club on Friday in Cincinnati. He completed his rehab assignment with the Triple-A Indians. The Pirates will need to add him to both the 40-man and 25-man roster.
- Third Baseman Pedro Alvarez will get the night off, giving Steve Pearce the start at third.
Alvarez, who is notorious for having a slow start to the season, is batting just .200. Manager Clint Hurdle and Alvarez were out early taking batting practice.
Hurdle told Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune, What I’d like him to do is go up there and be reactionary. He hasn’t gotten off to the start that he would like or we would like but it’s still early and I’m just trying to get him to focus on a couple absolutes at the plate. See the ball, number one, get a good pitch to hit, number two, know that he can attack the ball anywhere in the strike zone, it doesn’t need to be in a teacup. And just hit it hard where it’s pitched. I can tell you that.”
Brewers:
Rickie Weeks 2B, Carlos Gomez CF, Ryan Braun LF, Prince Fielder 1B, Casey McGehee 3B, Yuniesky Betancourt SS, Erick Almonte RF, Jonthan Lucroy C, Randy Wolf LHP
Pirates:
Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Matt Diaz RF, Steve Pearce RF, Lyle Overbay 1B, Chris Snyder C, Ronny Cedeno SS, Paul Maholm LHP
Correia’s no-no turns bad as the Pirates lose 6-0 to Brewers
Right-hand pitcher Kevin Correia was cruising. After pitching five innings without allowing a hit and just two walks, things turned ugly in the 6th and 7th inning as the Pirates were shutout by the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-0 on Wednesday night at PNC Park.
Jonathan Lucroy doubled to the North Side Notch in the top of the 6th, to break up Correia’s no-no. And from there, the Brewers scored four runs in the inning, including a three-run homer by Prince Fielder.
The Brewers tacked on two more runs in the 7th. Mark Kotsay reached base on an error by Third baseman Pedro Alvarez. Former Bucco Nyjer Morgan pinch ran for Kotsay and was driven in by a double hit by Yuniesky Betancourt. Morgan tackled Ryan Doumit at the plate and Betancourt advanced to third during the play at the plate. Shaun Marcum grounded to short, scoring Betancourt to give the Brewers a 6-0 lead.
Correia was charged with six runs (four earned) over six innings with two walks and one strikeout and picked up his first loss of the season.
Righty Shaun Marcum also flirted with a no-hitter through four innings. He didn’t allow a base runner until Lyle Overbay broke up the no-no in with a lead off single to right field in the 5th. Pedro Alvarez followed with a single, but were left stranded.
Marcum pitched seven shutout innings with one walk and four strikeouts. The four hits by the Pirates came off of Marcum. The Brewers bullpen held the Pirates hitless the final two innings.
The Pirates have lost three games in a row and have dropped to 5-6 this season –the first time this year the club has been under .500.
Tabata, Bullpen, victorious in 14 inning walk-off
After 14 innings and five hours and 11 minutes, the Pittsburgh Pirates delivered a walk-off win in the bottom of the 14th inning to win, 4-3, at PNC Park during the early hours of Saturday.
Josh Rodriguez drew a walk off of Franklin Morales and Jose Tabata hit a double off the Roberto Clemente wall to score the winning run.
Since the run came after midnight, the win came on the 10th birthday of PNC Park.
Jose Tabata told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “I’m looking for one pitch. I’m thinking if he throws a fastball, I’ll [take] a good swing. When he threw the pitch, I swung the bat. I stayed with my approach, middle-away, and [you] see what happened.”
The Colorado Rockies took advantage of right-hander Ross Ohlendorf’s early struggles. After allowing a leadoff walk to Dexter Fowler and a single by Jonathan Herrera, Jason Giambi launched a three-home run into the right field seats. The Rockies quickly took a 3-0 lead.
That was the only run the Rockies would score through the 14 inning game.
Ohlendorf was pulled after 2.2 innings with right shoulder discomfort.
The Pirates bullpen, which consisted of Jeff Karstens, Mike Crotta, Jose Veras, Joel Hanrahan, Chris Resop and Garrett Olson, pitched 11.1 innings allowing six hits, no runs, seven walks and 12 strikeouts.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 11.1 scoreless innings by the Bucs bullpen was the longest by the club in a game since 1900.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “My goodness, Scoreless? That’s a good hitting team over there. Our guys stepped it up. Every single one of them. There will be a couple who won’t be able to go [Saturday].”
The Pirates tacked on a run each of the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings.
After back-to-back walks to Neil Walker and Andrew McCutchen by Jorge De La Rosa, Matt Diaz grounded to short in a 10 pitch at-bat, to score Walker and cut the lead, 3-1.
Jose Tabata hit his first home run of the season, as well as the first home run hit by a Bucco at PNC Park this year in the 5th inning.
Matt Belise walked both Lyle Overbay and Pedro Alvarez in the 6th, and Jason Jaramillo hit a RBI single to right field to tie the game at 3.
The Pirates showed their patience at the plate on Friday, after walking for a total of eight times.
The Rockies had plenty of chances during the late innings to score the go-ahead run. After Chris Resop allowed a lead-off double to Herrera, Carlos Gonzalez lined to shortstop. Troy Tulowitzki was intentionally walked and Jose Morales struck out for the second out. Seth Smith drew a walk to load the bases. Ty Wigginton hit a liner to third base but Pedro Alvarez made a spectacular play, diving for the ball and then threw from one knee to first baseman Lyle Overbay to end the inning.
The Pirates were out of bench players and only right-hander Evan Meek was left in the Pirates bullpen. It was reported that he was not available to pitch and even tried to convince the staff to let him warm up, if needed.
During the bottom of the 14th, and Josh Rodriguez on first base with two outs, Jose Tabata stepped up to the plate. Rockies Manager Jim Tracy received a lot of critism for not walking Tabata to get to Garrett Olson, who was on deck.
Although, it didn’t appear that way. Manager Clint Hurdle sent Andrew McCutchen to the on deck circle in hopes Tracy didn’t realize the batting order (There was a double switch in the 10th inning, so the pitcher was batting in the two hole).
It proved out to be the game winning play, as Jose Tabata hit a double off of the Roberto Clemente wall to score Josh Rodriguez and win in the 14th inning.
Colin Dunlap of the Post-Gazette asked Hurdle if it was a decoy to make Tracy think McCutchen was up next, “No, come on, why would we do that,” Hurdle said with a sly chuckle.
What was Manager Jim Tracy’s reasoning? “To walk him into scoring position … I know they have somebody over there that maybe takes a swing and not have to hit the ball very far at all to end up winning the game that way also,” he said.
An incredible ending for the Pirates on their first win at home this season.
Jeff Karstens, who pitched 3.1 innings after taking over after Ohlendorf was injured, told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, “I don’t even think words can describe what we did tonight. Just guy after guy came out; the situation didn’t matter, they just kept pitching. We were able to get out of it.”
Hurdle added, “My goodness. That’s a good hitting team over there. Our guys stepped it up tonight, every single one.”
Bucs can’t hold on to early lead, lose 3-2 to Cardinals
The Pirates quickly got to right-hand pitcher Kyle McClellan, scoring two runs in the 1st inning, but the bats fell silent as they lost 3-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Tuesday.
Jose Tabata lead off the 1st inning with a double to center field before Lyle Overbay hit a home run, his first as a Bucco, to give the Pirates an early 2-0 lead.
James McDonald, who was sidelined several weeks in spring training due to left side soreness, allowed two runs on four hits over 4.2 innings in his season debut while walking four and striking out four. He threw 87 pitches, 51 for strikes.
McDonald told Nate Latasch of MLB.com, “It was progress. I got into some situations, but I’m proud of the way I controlled the situations and got out of jams. I didn’t have my great stuff today, but I had enough stuff to compete and keep my team in the game, so I was happy.”
Manager Clint Hurdle added, “His arm was strong. Threw some good breaking balls. Command a little iffy right now, but he battled. To almost get through five and give up two runs, it was a good step forward for him. He got up in the higher 80s with his pitches from 69 last time. He needs to get in front of hitters a little bit more. He was behind a lot of hitters today. But I thought it was a good effort for him.”
McClellan, who made his first major league start, held the Pirates to two runs on six hits with one walk and seven strikeouts over six innings.
Overbay told Matthew Leach of MLB.com, “You have to give credit to the other pitcher. He did real well. He kept the ball down. When he got in trouble he made the big pitch.”
McDonald didn’t allow a hit until Lance Berkman doubled in the 4th inning. The leadoff hit proved to be costly, as he was driven by a single hit by Allen Craig.
The Cardinals tacked on another run in the 5th after McDonald allowed back-to-back singles to Ryan Theroit and Colby Rasmus. Albert Pujols hit a sac fly to center to tie the game at two.
Lefty Scott Olson allowed a walk to Theroit and a single to Colby Rasums before Pujols stepped to the plate. After being rather quiet against the Bucs during Monday’s game, Pujols picked up his second RBI of the game, knocking in Theriot, and putting the Cardinals on top, 3-2.
Manager Clint Hurdle told Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Late in the game, walks don’t help. They usually hurt. And the walk to Theriot hurt. … Chris [Resop] made a good pitch to Pujols.”
“Got a two-hopper, found a hole.”
With two outs in the 8th inning, Andrew McCutchen hit a single and Lyle Overbay drew a walk but the opportunity was wasted as Pedro Alvarez struck out (for the third time of the night) to end the threat.
The Pirates struck out a total of 11 times. With the loss, the they drop to 3-2 this season, the Cardinals improved to 2-3. If the Bucs can pick up a victory on Wednesday, it would be the first time since 2007 that the Pirates have won back-to-back series on the road.
Kristy Robinson
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