McDonald went 5 2/3 while giving up four. He gave the Phillies an early lead in the first by way of back-to-back homers by Chase Utley (His first at bat this season) and Pirate killer Carlos Ruiz. After that he calmed down by allowing one more hit until the sixth when he allowed two runs on three hits. Jared Hughes would come in to retire the final batter but get into trouble himself in the seventh. The leadoff hitter reached by way of a Pedro error then Jimmy Rollins would triple to make it 8-5. Tony Watson would then come in and allow three straight hits, 8-7 nobody out. In comes Brad Lincoln and ten pitches later the Pirates are out of the inning, still with the lead. The highlight of the inning being the Lincoln v. Thome matchup with two out. Lincoln would get a three pitch strikeout of the future hall of famer and give him a stare-down as he walked to the dugout. Grilli would come in for a perfect eighth highlighted by an MVP-like catch by Cutch. (See Below) The Hammer would come in for the ninth and close things out.
You really thought you had a chance? - Cutch
The Bucco bats would have their best offensive performance of the season so far by knocking in eleven runs on fourteen hits. (Mind you it was against the Philly bullpen for 9 innings) The Fort would start the scoring off for the Bucs with a three run shot in the second. He really wants to keep playing in Pittsburgh and has given management a reason to keep him up here. McGehee would lead off the fourth with a solo shot and J-Mac would help his own cause with and RBI single. They would get three more in the fifth by way of RBI singles by Walker, Tabata, and The Fort. After the Phillies cut the lead to one in the seventh, the Pirates threw in the dagger with a three run eighth. Drew Sutton hit his second RBI double in as many days (and this time he knew to throw up the Zoltan), then the MVP candidate followed with a two run shot, his fourteenth of the year, to finish out the scoring. Pirates Win, Pirates Win!
#YouGottaBelieve
Starters Lines
McDonald: (W, 7-3) 5 2/3 IN, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's
Valdes: (L, 2-1) 2 IN, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K's
Turning Point
Brad Lincoln's dominance in the seventh with the Phillies in full comeback mode. With the tieing and go ahead runs on base and no out Brad Lincoln came in and shut it down going strikeout, fly out, strikeout. The stare-down of Thome wasn't bad though either.
Stud/Dud of the Game
Stud(S): Cutch/Lincoln - Cutch went 2-5 with a single, homer, 2 RBI's, 2 runs.
- Lincoln 1 IN, 2 K's. 2 Runners stranded
Dud: Pedro - No hits, walks. 3 K's
Dud: Pedro - No hits, walks. 3 K's
Final Thoughts
-- Since replacing injured Rod Barajas, The Fort has gone 7-11 (.636) with a double, 2 homers, and 6 RBI's.
-- This win is bigger than what some people think. There were many of us saying, this could be the start of the slide. They played like slop the last two games in a hostile environment and they were about to blow a large lead. They avoided the blow up and showed that they are not the team from last year, they can overcome diversity and that plays a big part in a small market team competing.
-- The Reds and Cardinals both lost allowing the Bucs to get back to second with the Cards, 2 behind the Reds.
-- A.J. Burnett goes tomorrow in the final game of the series at 1:05. If he can continue his dominance he could be at 10 wins by the All-Star break.
This Day in '92
W @ MTL 12-4
Jeff Robinson went 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 4 hits while striking out 4.
Orlando Merced went 2-5 with a triple, homer, 2 runs, and 4 RBI's. Steve Buchelle went 2-4 with a walk, single, homer, RBI, and a run.
Andy Van Slyke went 4-5 with 3 singles, a triple, 2 runs, and 2 RBI's.
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