Kevin Correia went toe-to-toe with Clayton Kershaw in the fourth straight quality start for Pirate pitchers, but the Bucs were only able to get a single run across as they fall to the Dodgers 2-1 in LA.
The Bucs fell behind early when LA played small ball in the first. Dee Gordon led the game off with a single, stole second, then scored two batters later on a Matt Kemp ground out.
It seemed like the Pirates were going to strike back the next inning when Casey McGehee rocketed a triple off of the center field wall (The sun aided in the play when Matt Kemp was unable to get a fix on the ball in time to catch it.). But, two strikeouts and a fly-out later and McGehee was still on third. You can't beat a pitcher like Clayton Kershaw by leaving your lead-off hitter on third.
Correia (ND) would get into a bit of trouble in the second and fifth innings allowing two runners to reach base, but like the three starters that went before him he was able to get out unscathed. He would finish the day after six innings and 81 pitches. (4H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 3K)
The Bucs would tie the game up on Kershaw (ND) in the seventh by playing a bit of small ball themselves. Presley and Cutch would lead the inning with back-to-back singles. McGehee would sacrifice the runners over on a deep fly to center and the "Hit Collector" Matt Hague would score Presley on a ground-out to second. Neil Walker would leave Cutch stranded on third. Kershaw's day would end after seven innings. (4H, 1R, 1ER, 7K)
Both bullpens would take the game from there other than one bad pitch thrown by Jason Grilli (L 0-1), a slider left over the middle of the plate that Andre Ethier was able to hit over the right field fence. Grilli had struck out Mark Ellis and Matt Kemp before giving up the two-out homer. Presley would give the Bucs some hope in the ninth with a one-out single but, Cutch would dash any comeback hopes by grounding into a game ending 6-4-3 double play. That's the third double play in four games that Cutch has grounded into.
Stud/Dud of the game
Stud: Alex Presley - 2 Hits and he scored the tieing run in the seventh.
Dud: Jason Grilli - You give up the game-winning homer in the eighth, you get the nomination.
Turning Point
The second inning for the Bucco offense. They get a gift in a lost ball in the sun with no out and can't convert. The percentage that a person would score from third with no out is over 65%. A hit, fly to the outfield, or even a ground out to the right side of the infield and the score is tied.
Final Thoughts
-- Pedro Alvarez was not in today's lineup. This is part of a platoon with Casey McGehee in which management has put in place to help get Pedro back into the full spin of things. Matt Hague is also platooning with Garret Jones.
-- Matt Kemp had the stadium chanting M-V-P before each of his at-bats. He went 0-4 with 2 K's and an RBI. Look's like the chants are working.
-- All four starting Pitchers had quality starts while only giving up a combined 5 runs. Only the Bucs and Houston can say that.
--This is the first time in club history that the Pirates have played their first four games by one-run scores. Pretty good on the defensive side considering the teams they played in those two games. (Philly, LA)
Tomorrow Erik Bedard (0-1) will make start #2 for the Bucs while Chad Billingsley (1-0) will look to continue a strong start to the season after shutting the Padres out through 8 1/3 innings of work with 11 K's on Friday. First pitch is at 10:10 and the game will be shown on Root Sports immediately following the Pens playoff match-up against the Flyers. The game will also be on the Pirates Radio Network.
This day in 1992
The Bucco's beat Philly 3-2 back in '92. Randy Tomlin (6 2/3 IN, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K) picked up the win. Stan Belinda (1 IN, 2 K) picked up save #2 on the season. Barry Bonds hit homer #2 in the fourth while Lloyd McClendon and Steve Buchelle both had RBI's in the game.
Andy Van Slyke went 1-4 with 2 K's.
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