The Buccos take the field in the first of a three game set against the Royals. The Bucs, fresh off of their series win in Cinci, were two games out of first going into Friday's game and came home to a packed house.
Erik Bedard threw seven strong allowing only two runs and striking out five. Jason Grilli and The Hammer came in and threw two perfect innings to clinch the win.
Garrett Jones, Neil Walker, and Clint Barmes all recorded RBI's in the game.
Final Score: Buccos 4 Royals 2.
Meanwhile in Cin the Reds walked off in the tenth on the Tigers after Detroit held a one run lead in the eighth. Bucs stay 2 back.
Saturday Night
The winning ways would continue into Saturday in front of a "Baseball Night in America" audience. (About 50 people) James McDonald took the hill in what everyone was expecting to be another masterful performance. That was not meant to be as J-Mac was pulled after four innings and three runs for a pinch-hitter. That move proved to be perfect as it led to runs. The Buccos scored five runs in that fourth with only one ball getting out of the infield. It was yet another example of how the Buccos find any way possible to get runs on the board.
Final Score: Buccos 5 Royals 3
More good news came earlier in the day when the Tigers scored late to overtake the Reds 3-2. Bucs move within a game from first.
Sunday Afternoon
The Buccos completed the sweep in front of another large crowd as A.J. Burnett again proved that he is in no way overrated. Burnett took a no-no into the sixth before allowing three hits and a run. He would get into a first and third jam in the eighth before getting pulled for Tony Watson. Watson would allow only one run to score while getting two big outs before Juan Cruz would end the inning with a bases loaded strikeout. Jason Grilli would come in for the ninth and allow the go ahead run to reach with one out. That's when Grilli showed why he is one of the best releavers in the majors. He struck the final two batters out ending with a huge fist pump that expressed the feelings of a whole fan base. The Pirates were a mere 1/2 game out of first.
Andrew McCutchen kept his MVP attitude going with all 3 RBI's by way of a double and 2 run homer.
Final Score: Buccos 3 Royals 2
It seemed the Reds would hold the NL Central lead until another late inning meltdown by Aroldis Chapman allowed the Tigers to score four times in the eighth giving them a 7-6 victory and first place for the Buccos.
The amount of Pirate fans on twitter during last nights Reds-Tigers game was amazing. What was even better was the reaction of the fans when the Reds lost. We got #FirstPlaceBucs trending nationwide but something we still are not getting is respect by the media. Before the season started the Pirates were listed as "other" in a NL Central prediction survey along with the Astros. We got no respect and we still aren't. The Pirates are 12-3 in their last 15 games. That's good enough to be the hottest team in baseball. Even after jumping into first place we got a small segment 3/4ths of the way through Sportscenter with this clever headline. "Roger is Jolly Again"
It doesn't matter if we make headlines or not, in the end all the Buccos need are the true fans that know what has and what could happen. Yes, they might start slipping down the standings or they may send this unbelievable season into a playoff birth. No matter what happens it's a great time to be a fan of the Pirates.Some writers and baseball fans are saying "Why are you so excited? It's June 10th. This will not continue" I say, let them say what they want. Pirates fans have been waiting twenty years for signs of life and we got a glimpse of it last season, Well it's happening again and you should not be ashamed at all to be thrilled about it. Now is the time to show your colors. Wear your throwback Van Slyke jersey downtown, fly your Jolly Roger outside of your house, show Pittsburgh that summer isn't only "A couple months till training camp starts" It's the time when the Buccos are contending.
Quoting a song made in 1990 for the Buccos, "You gotta believe it's your turn, you gotta believe its true, in Pittsburgh we believe, the Pirates will come through".
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