Before I even start my post, you must listen to the Call by Steve Blass and Greg Brown from the extra inning, walk-off homerun by Pedro Alvarez.

Three-Run Walk-off Homerun by Pedro- Video and Call

I was sitting my seat, nervously shaking my foot, bitting my nails when Garrett Jones was at the plate. He worked a walk. Pedro walked up to the plate. I say it now, and I will say it again. He is very special. He gives me hope and excitement that I haven’t felt for a player from the Pirates in a very, very, very long time. The moment Pedro connected with the ball I flew out of my seat, arms up in the air, screaming as loud as I could. I knew it was gone. Everyone in the stadium knew it was gone. The sell out crowd jumped to their feet and went nuts. The stadium shook with cheers and screams. I jumped around like a little kid, high fiving everyone around me. All of my emotions went wild. I skipped to my car after the game. I’m not even kidding. I can’t even remember a more exciting game at PNC Park in my life. It was by far, one of my favorite games to be at. Everytime I replay the video from the Walk-Off, I get tears in my eyes and chills up my spine. Pedro is a superstar in the making, he is just going to continue to get better and better. It was so awesome to see a glimpse of what could be in store for the future Pirates.

“Running around the bases, I don’t think it could have been any louder,” Alvarez said, “or the place would have collapsed if it were.” 

“It’s pretty unreal,” he said. “I can remember one other time hitting a walk-off home run, and obviously here on a Saturday night, a packed house, in the big leagues — nothing can beat that, maybe except Game 7 of the World Series.”

“In all honesty, when Garrett’s up there having that great at-bat, I’m hoping he gets on,” Alvarez said. “I wanted to go up there.”

“Pedro loves to play, loves to win,” Russell said. “And he wants to be on that stage. I say that in a good way. Not in a cocky way. He wants to be that guy. I think Pittsburgh fans are going to see some really special things out of this group, and Pedro’s one of them.”

“That guy that’s on deck, with what he’s shown us already, all the big hits … I’m not seeing anything to hit, but I’m thinking how he’s the guy I want up next,” Jones said. “And then, when I’m on first, I had a really good feeling about it. And sure enough …” 

“I think the baseball gods finally looked down on us and said, ‘Enough is enough,’ ” Pirates manager John Russell said. 

The Walk-off Homerun was by far the highlight of the night, but here is more notes from the game:

Chris Synder hit his first Homerun as a Bucco in the 6th inning with two on and one out.

Garrett Jones hit a Solo-Homerun in the seventh inning.

Joel Hanrahan came into the ninth inning for the save. Back-to-back nights, Hanny blew the lead. Hanrahan entered Friday given up five runs over his past 27 innings, he has now allowed five runs over the past two games. His 3.40 ERA jumped 4.20.

Sean Gallagher in the 10th inning gave up a two-run home run to Todd Helton.

Ross Ohlendorf pitched six innings giving up four hits, two runs, one earned, one walk, six strikes. He got the No decision.

Other News and Notes:

• The Pirates traded Brian Bixler to the Nationals for Cash Considerations.
• Ryan Doumit was activated from the DL, Erik Kratz was optioned to Triple-A Indy. Doumit is expected to split time with Lastings Milledge in right field and Chris Snyder at catcher.

“We’ll piece it together, but it’s going to be a little bit of a challenge to make sure we get all the guys in, get some playing time,” Russell said, adding, “I know he was ready to come back here, so it’s good to have him back.”

“Any time you play against better competition, you learn from your mistakes, but you also learn from watching guys doing it very well at the level I want to be at for a long time, so if you can watch those guys and learn from those guys in a live setting, that’s priceless information that you can gain,” the 30-year-old Kratz said. “Would I love to stay longer? For sure. I would love never going back, but that’s not the reality of the move that they made right now.”

• Jim Leyland on helping young players: “These kids don’t need somebody yelling and screaming at (them) and asking them to do things they’re not quite capable of doing yet. This team needs coaches and a manager right now that are trying to help them through some real tough times, get them acclimated to the big leagues, hope they get the big hit in a big situation once in a while, and keep encouraging them. They don’t need negative (stuff). If I was dumb and a young manager, I might appease the public and tear the clubhouse up tonight and set the place on fire. The fans would say, “He really cares.” -Detroit Free Press
• The Pirates relieved pitching coach Joe Kerrigan and bench coach Gary Varsho of their duties Sunday morning. Assistant pitching coach Roy Searage will take over as the interim pitching coach, and minor league field coordinator Jeff Banister will be the interim bench coach.

“Both Gary and Joe are quality baseball men who have worked hard during their time with the organization,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement. “However, [manager John Russell] felt strongly, and I agreed, that [Kerrigan and Varsho] were no longer the right fit for our staff and a change at this time was in the best interests of the club.”

“It was a very gut-wrenching decision,” Russell said. “There are some issues I’ve been working through for quite some time now that could not be resolved in a way I felt would be for the betterment of this organization. I respect both men greatly. I lost two friends today. That’s tough to deal with. But my main focus is this team, this organization, and I felt moving forward that this was the time to do this. With two months left in the season, I wanted to accomplish something this year moving into next year.”

On the starters’ potential, Searage said: “We just have to work hard and get back to the drawing board. There are some specific things I don’t want to address right now because I haven’t gone over them with the starters. But, if I you saw what James McDonald did the other night, throwing changeups to right-handers, and Ross Ohlendorf did that last night, with changeups to right-handers, that is an important thing you must have as a starter. If you’re going 50-50 with fastballs and sliders, that’s easier for the hitter.”

-Pittsburgh Post Gazette

• Pedro Alvarez in his last four games: 7-for-16, 3HR, 8RBI.
• Today is the first time since June 11th that Garrett Jones has started in Right field.
• The Pirates signed their fourth round pick, Nick Kingham. He is the 20th player the Pirates have signed so far in the 2010 Draft.

Today’s Pitching Matchup:

Esmil Rogers (RHP) 1-2, 4.85 ERA

VS

Paul Maholm (LHP) 7-9, 4.59 ERA

Rockies Lineup:

Fowler CF

Barmes 2B

Gonzalez LF

Tulowitzki SS

Mora 1B

Iannetta C

Spilborghs RF

Stewart 3B

Rogers P

Pirates Lineup:

McCutchen CF

Tabata LF

Walker 2B

Jones RF

Alvarez 3B

Doumit C

Clement 1B

Cedeno SS

Maholm P

There were so many mistakes made by the Pirates last night that in the end, cost them the game.

Zach Duke gave up a Solo Homerun to Carlos Gonzalez in the first inning.

Jose Tabata was picked off at first base.

Chan Ho Park came into the seventh inning for his Pirates debut. He gave up two hits, threw a wild pitch, and the Rockies scored the go-ahead run.

“I just feel bad about the two hits with two outs,” Park said afterward. “I had tough luck.”

“I think if he had to do [that] over, he’d maybe throw something offspeed there,” manager John Russell said. “It was a mistake. I know he didn’t want to throw the ball where he did, but he’s got a lot of weapons and once he gets going again, I think he’s really going to help us.”

There was an error by Garrett Jones when he made the throw to second base.

Pedro Alvarez missed the tag at third base, McCutchen made a beautiful throw from the outfield.

Hanrahan gave up two runs and three hits in the ninth inning.

But to be fair, there were some good moments on the night.

Pedro Alvarez hit a three-run Homerun to tie the game at three in the sixth. When he connects with the ball, it is just tourched. He’s so exciting to watch, and his homeruns give me chills. He is electric.

The Crowd of 30,711 went crazy. We were all jumping up and down, high fiving and just chanting “PEDRO” “PEDRO”.

“We’re down, 3-0, it’s the sixth inning, we’re getting outhit by 10-1, and everything just feels kind of … I don’t know, flat” Meek said. “And then, boom. Just like that, the momentum’s ours. There’s a spark in our step.”"Awesome,” starter Zach Duke said of the sudden atmosphere.

“It felt great, to tie a game like that,” shortstop Ronny Cedeno said.

“It was exciting,” manager John Russell said. “Got us right back in the game. We’re being outhit pretty substantially, and it felt like we came out of nowhere right there to tie it.”

“With some of the guys in our lineup right now –Garrett, Tabata, Andrew McCutchen, Neil, Pedro — being young right now, these are some of the things you’re starting to see,” Russell said. “Anything can happen at any time.”

Of the 79 home runs this year, five have been three-run homers, two others grand slams. 53 have been solo-homeruns.

There were some softly hit balls that found holes again,” Duke said. “The main thing is I didn’t walk anybody, and I was able to limit the damage.”

“He did a good job just giving up the runs he gave up,” Russell said. “You’ve got to give Zach some credit for battling. He was on the ropes a lot, and he gave up a lot of hits, but found a way to give up only three runs.”

Duke stranded six runners in his final four innings. He went six innings, gave up 10 hits, three runs, struck out five.

Hammel (WP 8-6) 6IP, 3H, 3ER, 2K, 2BB

Street picked up his seventh save.

It was also Andrew McCutchen Bobble head night at PNC Park.

Other News & Notes:

• Duke and Maholm are tied for most winingest pitcher at PNC park at 28.
• Since May 31, Neil Walker is batting .308 (Leads all 2B in the majors)
• The Pirates have used 44 players this season.
• Chase D’Arnaud has a nine game hitting streak. 17 for 35 (.486 AVG) with three doubles, five RBI, and five SB. He also leads the team with 71 R, 29 doubles and six triples.
• The Buccos are 10-49 when opponent scores first.
• 12-57 when they score four runs or less.
• 3-64 when trailing after eight innings.
•  Jose Tabata has 32 hits since the All-Star Break, the second most in the NL.
• In yesterday’s Rehab game two, Ryan Doumit went 2-for-3, HR, 2B, 2RBI
• Jeff Locke 5IP, 8H, 6ER, 4K, 3BB (L 1-1)
• Zack Dodson 5Ip, 0H, 0ER, 5K, 1BB (W 2-2)
• After the loss, the Pirates are now just two games behind the Orioles for the worst record in MLB.
• Brad Lincoln 3IP, 9ER, 9H, 2BB, 5K (L, ERA 4.17)
• The Pirates optioned Justin Thomas to Triple-A to clear space for Chan Ho Park on the 25 man roster.

James McDonald was brillant in his Pirates Debut.

I was blown away by his performance yesterday at the game. I don’t want to get overly excited and give him very high expectations, but he did pitch one of the better games I’ve seen all season. J-Mac struck out the side in the first inning. He continued to be a strike out machine, punching out six of the first seven batters he faced. James matched the Pirates’ individual season-high with eight strikeouts over six innings in his Pittsburgh debut. (Ohlendorf struck out eight on July 2 against the Phillies and Morton did the same against the Dodgers on April 30.)  

McDonald pitched six strong shutout innings, giving up four hits, striking out eight, walked just one. He threw 89 pitches. J-Mac’s fastball was hitting 95-96 on the gun and his Change was 81-82.

“Pretty good, wasn’t it?” Pirates manager John Russell quipped.

McDonald threw two third-strike curveballs, two third-strike fastballs and four third-strike changeups.

“I did not expect my changeup to be that good,” McDonald said. “It was real good today. I felt like I could throw it at any time. I wasn’t afraid to throw it.”

Good doesn’t exactly describe his change up last night, I’d say it was nasty.

J-Mac was the first Pirates starter to allow no runs and strike out at least eight batters in team debut since 1907. (Nick Maddox) 

Garrett Jones snapped his 0-for-20 streak by hitting a Solo Homerun over the Clemente Wall and it landed in the last row of the seats. If he would have hit it a little further, it would have left the ballpark.

Still in the second inning, Ronny Cedeno hit a two-run homerun to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead.

“It was really good to get three runs early,” McDonald said. “The team swung the bats good, got me settled in. I felt like if I made a mistake, it wasn’t costing the game. We were relaxing a little bit.”

The entire lineup of buccos swung the bats well on the night. Everyone (except McDonald, who frankly, did more enough) had at least one hit.

McCutchen 1-3, BB, R

Tabata 1-4

Walker 2-4, RBI, R

Jones 2-4, HR (15)

Alvarez 1-4, RBI

Milledge 1-4, R

Synder 2-4

Cedeno 1-3, HR (6) 2 RBI

The Bullpen did pretty well. Since the new additions they have been struggling as of late. (Everyone except Meek and Hanrahan)

Ledezma pitched a scoreless seventh, with two strikeouts.

Gallagher did give up a run after just 1/3 of an inning but Justin Thomas came in and finished off the eigth.

Resop made his Pirates debut in the ninth inning.

He pitched a scoreless inning, no hits, no walks, one strikeout.

“I said it numerous times on the field to some of these guys: They’re playing the game the right way. It’s noticeable,” Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said.

“Any fan watching can see the reason why the Pirates have beaten us. They’ve played real solid baseball.” 

Francis drops to (4-4) on the season. He went 5.2 IP, gave up nine hits, five runs, and five strikeouts. J-Mac wins his Pirates Debut (1-1)

 ”He pitched a great game,” Russell said. “This is what I saw from him two years ago and he’s even better now. That’s why I’m so excited we were able to trade for him.”

Other News & Notes:

• Chan Ho Park (who was claimed off waivers from the Yankees)

                                                              2010                       Season

Games/Starts                                          27/0                        450/287

Innings                                                    35-1                        1,964.2

Record                                                     2-1                          122-96

ERA                                                        5.60                         4.37

WHIP                                                      1.47                         1.40

• Chris Resop (was claimed off waivers from the Braves)

He is 27 years old, 6’3″, 222 lbs. He was selected by the Marlins in the fourth round of the 2001 draft.

Resop is 3-3, with a 6.14 ERA, 1.78 WHIP in 58 games with FLA/LAA/ATL

• The Pirates pen’ has looked much different since the trade deadline.

July 30th:                                                             Current

RHP Gallagher                                                     RHP Gallagher

LHP Lopez                                                           RHP D. McCutchen

RHP Jackson                                                       LHP Thomas 

RHP Donnelly                                                       LHP Ledezma

RHP Carrasco                                                      RHP Resop

RHP Meek                                                           RHP Meek

• RHP Chan Ho Park is expected to join the ball club today.
• James McDonald was the 11th different starting Pitcher for the Pirates this season.
• The Pirates are 17-1 when scoring six or more runs this season (3rd in MLB)
• The Rockies have now been outscored 37-14 during their seven game road loosing streak.
• The Cardinals are looking at Andy LaRoche as a possible trade target, assuming he clears waivers. Third baseman David Freese is out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
• SS Brian Bixler was demoted to Double-A Altoona. He hit .171 with one RBI in 11 games with Indy.
• Russell said both McCutchen and Jose Tabata will be closely monitored in the final few weeks of the season and could get extra time off. McCutchen has been dinged by injuries. Tabata, who’ll turn 22 next week, is on track for career highs in games and at-bats. “We don’t want to run them into the ground,” Russell said -TRIBLIVE 
• Ryan Doumit is expected to come off the DL on Saturday, not today. In his first two rehab games he went 0-for-8 with two strikeouts.

“The first day down there was a little rough,” Huntington said. “It’s tough for any player to sit for 15 days and come back to the Major League level. At this point, we’re expecting today and tomorrow out of Ryan, and look to activate him on Saturday.”

• JR has not determined the roles of newly acquired Resop and Park.

“It’s just trying to bridge that gap between our starter and getting to the guys at the back end,” Russell said. “We still feel like the guys we have with [Sean] Gallagher, [Wil] Ledezma, that they’re going to be able to get into [the later innings]. But throwing them right into that role, and [Daniel] McCutchen as well, I think these guys will help solidify that a little bit.”

• Most Strikeouts in a Pirates Debut (since 1952):

1955- Dick Hall -11

1992- Tim Wakefield -10

1983 Jose Deleon -9

2005- Zach Duke -9

2010- James McDonald -8

1984- Bob Walk -8

• The Pirates are 22-13 all-time at home against the Rockies.
• The Pirates are 31-1 when leading after eight innings.
• The Pirates are 26-14 when scoring four or more runs.

A few pictures of the Rockies BP:

Today’s Pitching Matchup:

RHP Jason Hammel (7-6, 4.37 ERA)

VS

RHP Zach Duke (5-10, 5.36 ERA) 

Today’s Pitching Matchup:

Jeff Francis (4-3, 4.44 ERA)

VS

James McDonald (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Francis was great in his last outing on July 30 with a 17-2 win against the Cubs. He needed just 88 pitches through six innings, allowing two runs. In his last three starts, Francis is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA with 18 strikeouts.

The Pirates will send James McDonald to the mound. He is making his Bucco debut. This season for the Dodgers he only pitched in four games and was primarily used as a reliver. In Triple-A as a starter he was 6-1 with a 4.44 ERA.

Career Stats: He is 26-23 with a 3.40 ERA in 93 minor league appearances. In 53 appearances with the Dodgers, five of them starts, he went 5-6 with a 4.11 ERA, Struck out 63 batters in 76 2/3 innings, with 40 walks and .262 opponents’ batting average.

“We like James’ three-pitch mix with a chance to develop his slider,” general manager Neal Huntington said. “His fastball has average to above-average velocity with downhill plane. His curveball has shown sharpness to the break. He has shown feel for his changeup with solid deception. He has shown the ability to throw all three pitches for strikes. The slider has flashed quality at times and, at other times, has been more of a slurve.”

McDonald has been actually better as a reliever than a starter over his career. So why would he rather start? 

“Because I know I can do it,” McDonald replied. “It’s just a matter of getting out there, day in, day out, learning major league hitters. I looked back at film of my starts from last year, and I’d ask myself, ‘Why did I throw him that pitch when I didn’t have to show that to him?

“My confidence was down at the beginning of last year, but I came back and did really well,” McDonald said. “Confidence is the one thing nobody can take from you.”‘

“Get back into a starting role, that’s the kind of thing you think about. You think how you’re going to get him out the second and third time.”
 

Other News and Notes:

• Joel Hanrahan leads the Pirates with 67 strikeouts. The Last time a reliever led the team with strike outs was in 2004, BJ Ryan for the Orioles. The last Pirate to do so was Goose Gossage in 1977.
• Pirates are 11-20 (15th in NL) in day games.
• Exicardo Cayonez (GCL) this season: .319 AVG, 9 2B, 18 RBI, 21 R, 7 SB
• The Rockies, who are in Pittsburgh for a four game series are hot at home, hitting .301. On the road they are batting just .229.
• Batting Stance guy does Pedro Alvarez! Check it out here
• Rockies’ Dexter Folwer tweeted this afternoon: 

@DFowler24: Well in beautiful Pittsburgh , trying to get off to a good start on this road trip!! Hopefully I’m in there today, getting anxious!

Pirates president Frank Coonelly participated in his monthly live online chat with Pirates fans on Wednesday. During the chat, Coonelly answered questions about the makeup of the current roster, possible September call-ups, the recent trading deadline deals and more. The complete chat transcript follows.

Coonelly: Hello everyone, and thanks for joining me today while we take on the Reds at PNC Park. Let’s get started.

timaz78:: Mr. Coonelly, do you see Alex Presley and Jim Negrych as probable September call-ups?

Coonelly: Alex Presley has had an impressive season beginning with Altoona and continuing with an impressive start in Indy. Jimmy Negrych has also returned this year from the injury he sustained in Altoona last year to put together a strong season. Neither Alex or Jimmy are on the 40-man roster, but that would not preclude a September call-up. Brandon Moss has really come on over the last several months and is certainly a candidate for a September call-up. Neal and Kyle Stark and their staffs have not yet, however, made any decisions in terms of September call-ups.

kevschwarz: Will there be any trades or signings for pitchers this year or next?

Coonelly: As I have mentioned in probably each of the last two chats, we are very encouraged by the development of the pitching prospects in our system , and particularly those currently leading Altoona to one of the most impressive seasons in the Minor Leagues, those players include: Bryan Morris, Rudy Owens, Justin Wilson, Jeff Locke and Jared Hughes. Nevertheless, we will aggressively evaluate outside options for both the starting rotation and the bullpen in the trade and free agent markets this offseason.

SnakeWesker: Could we see John Bowker in the big leagues this year? What about Brandon Moss?

Coonelly: SnakeWesker, thanks for mentioning Bowker. As I indicated in a previous answer, Brandon Moss has earned the right to be considered for a call-up at some point this season. John Bowker, who we acquired from San Francisco, is another player with Major League experience who we will get to know and will be considered for a call-up at the appropriate time. Both Bowker and Moss are experienced lefthanded bats that we think have a chance to help us.

ahouser95: What is the progress made with signing the two recent pitchers in the draft, Taillon and Allie, along with Heredia?

Coonelly: We have had positive dialogue with both Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie and remain confident that we will be able to sign both players. As the August 16 signing deadline is now less than two weeks away, we look forward to those discussions picking up and reaching resolution with both players and bringing in two quality right-handed power pitchers into the system. Luis Heredia is a young pitcher who we have followed but who is not yet eligible to sign a contract.

18nalax: What is the future of Chris Snyder/Ryan Doumit? Snyder will be making $5.5 million next year, so will management be looking to pay that?

Coonelly: We acquired Chris Snyder to bolster our catching for the remainder of this year and next year and did so understanding his contract terms. Ryan Doumit is a dangerous offensive bat who John Russell will continue to utilize as a catcher and look to get him in the lineup at other positions as well. Using Ryan in the outfield will allow JR to give Lastings Milledge, Jose Tabata and Andrew McCutchen a day off as he sees fit.

pgharsteve: Are you proud (effort, wins-losses, progress, depth, etc.) of the team, especially the big league team?

Coonelly: pgharsteve, as I have said on several occasions this year, we are extremely disappointed by the team’s record. We expected much better and our fans deserve much better. I do believe, however, that the players and JR and his staff have worked extremely hard to get the club moving in the right direction. There have been no signs of a lack of effort or a lack of caring. Our fans need only look in the dugout during last night’s game as Evan Meek and Hanrahan maintained the lead in a tight game that our players cared deeply about winning every game that we play, regardless of our record. Our focus is the continued development of this young core and finishing this season with a strong push. Individual players are fighting hard to establish starting roles with the club and the club as a whole is working to develop a winning mentality and those efforts will continue to drive us through the end of the season.

timaz78: Mr. Coonelly, I haven’t seen Yhonthan Barrios’ name in any stat lines yet, however on the MILB site he is listed as being assigned to West Virginia. What is his status?

Coonelly: timaz78, Barrios is currently on the disabled list recovering from surgery to remove the hook of the hamate. It is uncertain whether he will be able to return this season, but we expect that he will fully recover and be ready for Instructional League. This is the same surgery that Starling Marte and Pedro Alvarez have had and is relatively minor as surgeries go.

Coonelly: One more for today…

jm_bucsfan: Are you happy with the trading deadline deals?

Coonelly: We are pleased with what Neal and his staff were able to accomplish at the deadline. They were able to convert a group of free agent signings from this past offseason into six players over whom we have control for multiple years, some of whom are helping the Major League club now and others who are continuing to build the depth of talent in our organization.

Coonelly: Thanks again everyone for joining me. Going to get back to the game, and hope we can plate a few for the W today. I will see you all again next month.

  -Pirates

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

I remember exactly where I was when I saw Chris Jakubauskas take a comebacker off his head earlier this season.

I felt that unfortunate sick to my stomach, scared to death feeling in the first inning of yesterday’s game against the Rockies. Ross Ohlendorf took a line drive from Tulu off the side of his head. It bounced clear into right field. The crazy part? Ohly didn’t even fall to the ground. He just stood there, completely fine, we even saw him laugh. An impact that hard and it didn’t even hurt the poor guy? Talk about a tough ball player. He was taken out of the game after pitching just 2/3 of an inning.

He was taken to the ER for precautionary reasons. The CT scan cleared Ohlendorf of any trauma to the brain, and was diagnosed was a deep bruise and some abrasion on the right side of his head. He said he felt “just fine” after the game. The team plans to monitor him for concussion symptoms. Ross returned to the ballpark in the sixth inning, shaking hands with the players and smiling.

“I think he got, obviously, very lucky,” manager John Russell said. “It shook him a little bit. We’ll have to reevaluate him through the night and [on Thursday]. We’ll see how he’s doing. Again, I think he’s very fortunate.”

“Considering I got hit in the head, I feel like I am really lucky with where it hit me,” he said. “I feel fine. I guess I got lucky.”

“I saw it hit him and I asked someone where the ball went, because I started running out of the dugout as soon as it hit him,” Russell said. “You could tell he was dazed a little bit.”

“At first, I was kind of shocked,” Ohlendorf said. “My first reaction was just surprise, and then upset, because I knew they were going to probably want to take me out.”

“He was upbeat and had a little smirk on his face and seemed with it,” Jones said. “Those types of plays are always tough to see. Ross must have a thick skull, because that ball was hit hard.”

Afterward, Tulowitzki sent a message to the Pirates’ clubhouse seeking Ohlendorf’s phone number.

Ohlendorf sure did get lucky. Jakubasuskas was immediately placed on the 15-day DL and still hasn’t came off.

Sean Gallagher replaced Ohlendorf in the first inning. He pitched three scoreless innings, 57 pitches, giving up zero hits, struck out four and walked three. Gallagher got his first win as a Bucco and his first win since Sept 21, 2009 against, who else? The Pirates! 

Wil Ledezma made his Pirates debut in the fourth inning, and boy was it a good one. Hitting 94-95-95 on the gun he struck out the first guy he faced, Olivio. He pitched scoreless and hittless through 1.1 innings.

The rest of the guys from the Pen shut the door. Carrasco, Hanrahan and Dotel each pitched scoreless innings. Lopez was the only reliever to give up a run throught the entire game. Kudos for the great job they did.

Garrett Jones went 4-for-4 on the night, with two Homeruns, a triple away from the cycle. He drove in three of the six runs scored.

“I felt good today,” Jones said. “Our bullpen had to pick up a pretty heavy load. We were just trying to score as much as we can to help them.”

They continued to play great as a team. McCutchen went 3-for-4, Walker 1-for-5 with two RBI, Alvarez 1-for-3 with a BB and a RBI. The Bucs scored six runs off 11 hits.

Another scary moment came in the fifth inning.

Andrew McCutchen slammed into the wall, making an unbelieveable catch. He immediately grabbed his shoulder and was starting yelling, angry at himself. I thought he re-injured his AC joint. (he missed six games recently from it) After the trainer and JR came out to make sure he was okay, he stayed in the game. Thank goodness he was okay.

“It’s just one of those things with it being sprained and healing, you’ve just got to give it some time,” said McCutchen, who will be reevaluated on Thursday. “It’s something that I can play through. I’m fine now.”

After the game he was asked If he had any thoughts of taking it a little easier on that fly ball: ” No chance. No Chance. I took it easy for five days where I didn’t do anything so I’m not going to let anything drop out there. If I got a chance to catch it, I’m going to catch it.”

^^ That is one of the many reasons I love Cutch. He has so much heart and love for the game.

Last night was the first time since May 14th and 15th that the Pirates won back to back road wins.

The Pirates take on the Rockies today at 3:10, looking for the Series sweep and to improve their record to one game ABOVE .500 after the All-Star Break.

Pitching Matchup:

Paul Maholm 6-8, 4.13 ERA

A four-run second inning handed Maholm the loss Friday vs. the Padres. Maholm has been mired in a good-start, bad-start routine going back to June 23 at Texas. Two of his last six outings have lasted fewer than four innings.

VS

Ubaldo Jimenez 15-2, 2.75 ERA

Jimenez will try to rebound after what was one of his poorer outings in what has otherwise been a magical season. On Saturday against the Phillies, the righty lasted just two innings, surrendering six earned runs.

Zach Duke was interviewed on yesterday’s Pirates Pre-game show by Greg Brown. In case you missed it, here is what they talked about.

Greg Brown: “We are with last night’s starting pitcher, and winner of course, Zach Duke. Six innings, three hits, a couple of solo homeruns, the only blemish against another strong start. Boy, your feeling good aren’t you Zach?”

Zach Duke: “Yeah, I like where I’m at. The ball is coming out of my hand well, my location has been pretty solid as of late and hopefully i can stay where I’m at.”

GB: “Last night that command was outstanding, wasn’t it? That ball was doing just about everything you wanted it to do.”

ZD: “It was, you know, especially early on I was able to establish my fastball command and really hitting the down and away spot really well and really everything just worked off of that.”

GB: “Zach you said, it was quoted in the papers that, after spending some time on the Disabled list, its not that you necessarily feel better but you just feel like your at where you should be right?”

ZD: “Yeah. I physically feel right again and mentally I feel like I don’t have to try to do more or create extra to try to compenstate for the arm, I feel like myself which is a nice place to be.”

GB: “Do you feel like your stronger a little bit since that time off?”

ZD: “I don’t know about stronger, I feel like I’m still having to build up my arm strength from not throwing for a month. It’s a little tough to say I feel stronger, but I do feel consistant mechanically which is allowing me to control the ball the way I want it.”

GB: “Everybody always asks the question, you know six innings, could you have gone more? But you just mentioned you are trying to build up arm strength, right?”

ZD: “Yeah. I could have probally gone a little more but the way the bullpen has been, with Meek, Hanrahan, Dotel, they shut the door everytime so we didn’t want to risk anything and possibly have me go out and not be able to pitch again.I’m glad it worked out the way it did and obvisously got a win and that’s the most important thing.”

GB”How about that defense last night?”

ZD: “They were great. Andrew McCutchen ran down everything and the infield played great as well. Hopefully we can keep playing that way.”

GB: “How much fun is that to deliver a pitch that your not real sure about, you turn around and you see this guy flying around all over the place in the outfield?”

ZD: “It takes a lot of pressure of you as a pitcher that’s for sure. Anytime you got a guy like him in centerfield that can run down everything, you have a lot more margin for error and you don’t try to be so perfect. It takes a lot of pressure off you and lets you just kind of relax and do your thing.”

GB: “Zach, this is the week for trade rumors, the deadline coming up Saturday, you put it aside?”

ZD: “I don’t think I’ll be traded. I haven’t even thought about it. I don’t know if we will make any moves. From what they’ve said to us in Spring Training on is the guys in the clubhouse are the ones that they want here so, if something happens I’ll be suprised.”

GB: “Hey, speaking of rumors. There is a rumor going around that you, and Kristin are expecting the first Duke in the family. Your first child, when’s that?”

ZD:” We are expecting. It’s due in Feb right twoards the start of Spring Training so maybe I’ll get a little extra time to report to camp. It’s a very exciting time for us. Thankfully everything has gone according to plan, the baby’s healthy, Kristin’s healthy so we’re really excited.”

 They are such a beautiful couple, and will have such a gorgeous baby. Congrats to them!

Other Pirates News:

•  NL Rookie Ranks (Since All-Star break) Entering Wed:

Neil Walker                                          Jose Tabata

.422 AVG – 3rd                                     .375 AVG – 8th

6 runs – T-8th                                        12 Runs – 1st

19 Hits – 3rd                                          18 Hits – 4th

XBH 6 – T-4th                                         XBH 6 – T-4th

• Brandon Moss deserves another shot -PiratesProspects    
• RISP Batting Average (NL Leaders)

Lastings Milledge PIT .388 

Adrian Gonzalez SD .384

Angel Bagan NYM .375

Jonny Gomez CIN .373

James Loney LAD .357

• Minor League Update:

Brandon Moss 2-for-5, HR (17) 4 RBI, .268 AVG

Alex Presley 2-for-4, 2RBI, SB, 2 RUNS .352 AVG

Justin Wilson (W 8-6) 6IP, 6H, 3R, 1ER, 4K, 2BB, 3.06 ERA

Nate Baker (ND) 5.1 IP, 5H, 1R 0ER, 5K, 2BB, 2.20 ERA

D’Arnaud 3-for-4, 2B, 2 SB, Run

Hague 2-for-5, HR (12), 2 Runs

• Derek Hanks was promoted to Triple-A Indy. In 26 games he had a 1.82 ERA.
• The Pirates bullpen has been lights out this season. Want proof? Check out these stats:

31-9 when the Pirates are tied or leading after the sixth inning

24-3 when leading after the seventh

29-1 when leading after the eigth

• Tweet from Hanrahan4467: Big win for us today! That’s a road series win too! We needed that!

And also looks like Ross is going to be ok, seemed fine after the game, and Cutch is feeling good too, very scary for both! 

• Aki Iwamura had CT scans come back negative after collision with 1B for Class AAA Indianapolis.

The Pirates beat the Rockies, 4-2, and get a win on the road!

They are 11-38 on the road this season, losing 24 of the past 26 games on the road.

The Buccos took advantage of a struggling Rockies team. On their recent 11 game roadtrip:

• Record 2-9
• Record in one-run games 1-5
• Runs per game 3.18
• Batting Avg .209
• Batting Avg with RISP .192
• Opp Avg .252
• ERA 4.76

Zach Duke pitched six solid innings giving up three hits, two runs, while striking out four and walking two. It was Duke’s second win in a row, his third quality start since coming off the DL. The only two runs Zach gave up came in the fifth inning when he gave up back-to-back Home Runs to Hawpe and Barmes.

“The sinker was down, the changeup was down,” Duke said. “That was the main thing.”.

“Each start, he’s getting a little sharper,” Russell said. “You can see that when he’s down in the zone like he was tonight.”

“I wouldn’t say I feel stronger or better. I would say I feel like myself again,” Duke said. “It just means that I’m not trying to do too much. I just think about executing pitches rather than thinking about how to make the pitch better.”

In the seventh, Meek gave up a leadoff double to Miguel Olivo but escaped with three groundouts.

“I just had to get my command back,” Meek said.

Joel Hanrahan came in and pitched a scoreless inning, Hanny has only been scored upon three times since June 1st (22 appearences) and had his sixth straight scoreless inning since the All-Star Break.

Octavio Dotel put up a zero as well and picked up his 21 save of the season. (quite possibly for the last time as a Pirate) Tick..Tick..Tick..Here’s a video of his entrance music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klcFJ-knID0&feature=youtu.be

“When you play on the road, that’s what you need to do,” manager John Russell said. “Zach did a good job, our bullpen did what they usually do for us, we caught the ball, Neil had a really big hit … it was a very solid win for us.”

“It’s great to do this, especially at the beginning of the trip,” Walker said. “We’ve been looking for something to get us started on the road and, hopefully, this is it.”

“The best part is that it was a clean game,” reliever Evan Meek said. “That’s what it takes to win on the road, and we had that from Zach on out.”

The Pirates set the tone in the first. McCutchen led off with a double and Tabata brought him home with an RBI Single. Jose then scored on a WP by De La Rosa. The Pirates got two runs in the first.

In the sixth inning, Jones hit a RBI double, his 21st 2B of the season, which scored Tabata and gave the Bucs a 3-2 lead. GFJ leads the team with 57 RBI. 

Neil Walker  hit a Solo-HR in the eight inning, giving the Pirates a 4-2 lead. Neil snapped his 0-for-11 streak and went 3-for-4 on the night.

“I was able to get extended a little bit,” Walker said. “It was a good night for all of us, not just for me.”

Jim Tracy, a former Pirates Manager, was asked what he thought about the the new Bucs.

“What do I see? It’s very interesting young talent, no doubt about that,” he replied. “There are some real dynamics to the top of their order. There’s a very, very good-looking third baseman who just showed up with them.”

“What would be interesting, as far as I’m concerned, is the collectiveness moving forward and the capability of holding it together for an extended period,” Tracy continued. “So, then, they can become very familiar with one another. That will be the key to seeing if it has a chance to come to complete fruition. That’s what I see.”

It was Troy Tulowitzki’s first game back since being placed on the DL on June 18th. (He missed 32 games with a broken wrist) Tulu is a big part of the Rockies offense batting .306 with nine HR and a .502 SLG. It was not a good night for him as he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and an error.

“My error didn’t help at all,” said Tulowitzki, who came off the disabled list prior to the game. “We’re just doing enough to lose.”

The Pirates recalled Steven Jackson from Triple-A Indy, and purchased the contract of Wil Ledezma.

Ledezma has spent his career with six different teams. (DET, ATL, SD, ARI, WSH, PIT)

He has been up and down a lot over the years, he has a ML Career record of 15-22 with a 5.17 ERA , 1.58 WHIP, 255/183 K per BB, and has allowed 42 HR in 370.2 IP.

This season in AAA though he has been Meek-like. 0-1, 0.94 ERA, 9 SV in 38 IP. He limited the hitters to a .156 AVG (20-for-128) and is coming off 20 consecutive scoreless innings.

“I think I’ve got better command,” Ledezma said. “I’m mixing all my pitches right now better than before. Everything is good. In Indy, I [had] a role. I think that helped me, too, when they told me I had a role.”

Steven Jackson’s stay is expected to be a short one, more than likely until Friday. Unless the Pirates aquire a starter before the trade deadline at 4PM on Saturday, they will need someone to take Brad Lincoln’s spot in the rotation. Daniel McCutchen has made three starts since being sent down to Triple-A allowing three earned runs in eight innings.

The Rockies have now lost seven straight games. De La Rosa gets the loss falling to 3-3 on the season. His line: 7IP, 6H, 2ER, 8K, 2BB.

Other Pirates News:

• Righty Jose Acosta of the Pirates’ VSL team will miss the remainder of the season after receiving a 50-game suspension. Acosta tested positive for Stanozolol, which is a banned performance-enhancing substance.
• The Pirates signed Independent Leaguer, Travis Chick from the Camden Riversharks. He has reported to Triple-A Indy. Chick has been used primarily as a starter, but he’ll begin in the bullpen for now. He went 5-4 with a 4.40 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 14 games this season.
• Pirates Notebook: McLouth’s fall precipitous -Post-Gazette
• Pirates put OF prospect Gorkys Hernandez on DL at Double-A Altoona with broken right ring finger. Gorkys was injured Sunday when he was hit by a pitch.
• The Pirates sent second baseman Shelby Ford down to High-A Bradenton. He was batting just .242 this season for Altoona.
•  After getting lit up lately & skipped over his last start, Bryan Morris is back: 5 IP, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 Ks, 6 GB outs, 0 flyouts.
•  (Via Hot Stove) Before getting Alberto Callaspo from the Royals, the Angels checked on the Pirates’ Garrett Jones, but talks died when Pittsburgh asked for infielder Maicer Izturis.
• @Dejan_Kovacevic from Pittsburgh Post Gazette said: Mentioned this yesterday in chat: Pirates say Angels never contacted them about Garrett Jones.

I wanted to save these stats for further down in my post. To say the Pirates have been horrible on the road is an understatement. I didn’t want to take away from the positive, the great job they did today with these depressing stats. So here they are now, read over them quickly and lets move on.

The Road Woes for the Buccos -Away from Home this season (Stats entering Tues)

                                                            NL RANK

• Record 11-38                                    LAST
• Batting AVG .235                              13TH
• Total Runs 148                                  LAST
• Home Runs 37                                  14TH
• OBP .292                                          LAST
• SLG .359                                          15TH
• ERA 5.68                                          LAST

Today’s Pitching Matchup:

Ross Ohlendorf 1-8, 4.39 ERA

I just couldn’t help myself. He’s dressed up here for rookie hazing.

VS

Aaron Cook 4-6, 4.78 ERA

Ohlendorf tossed his fourth quality start in his past five outings, fanning six Brewers over six frames Thursday. His only mistake was a Prince Fielder solo homer, and it was the difference in a 3-2 loss.

Cook was hit hard by the Phillies his last start, giving up five runs on nine hits while walking three in 4 1/3 innings. He has a 5.67 ERA in eight career games (five starts) against the Pirates.

Around the Ballparks:

“The X-rays didn’t show anything. They looked pretty clear so it’s just a matter of getting the soreness and swelling out of there,” Haren said Tuesday before the Angels’ lost to the Red Sox 4-2.

“I got out there and threw from about 150-200 feet today and felt pretty good … so as of now I’d like to think I’ll be good to go on Saturday.”                          -ESPN

• (Via @jcrasnick) One scout said he won’t be surprised if Nationals trade Adam Dunn, then try to re-sign him this winter if the price drops
• Lackey victorious in return to Anahiem -MLB
• (Via @BaseballGuys) Jason Bay diagnosed with mild concussion from wall-smash in LA. Will be observed over next 48 to 72 hours. Felt symptoms manifest on Sunday
• Stephen Strasburg was scratched from yesterday’s start against the Braves after experiencing shoulder stiffness during his warmups in the bullpen. He is listed as day-to-day.