We're Contenders Now

     It's been a while since a post gone out and since then there has been some baseball played. The Buccos ended the first half of the season on a very high note by taking 6 of 7 games in their final homestand before the All-Star game capped off by a clutch Cutch performance where he would send two out of the park. That wasn't the best moment of that game, though, as A.J. Burnett cruised to his tenth win of the season. After being removed in the seventh, he walked off the field to a loud standing ovation in which he thanked the crowd with a perfect gesture. (Pictured below). The Buccos ended the first half a game ahead of the Reds for first in the Central. It is the first time since '92 that this has happened.

     The All-Star break was an enjoying one for Pirate fans as well because our MVP participated in the Home Run derby, although he didn't make it past the first round (4 Homers), as well as going 1-2 at the plate in the All-Star game. The Hammer also made an appearance in the game striking out the only batter he faced, KC's hometown boy (Billy Butler). The NL would win the game which gives home field in the World Series to the NL Champ.

     The second half has started and it didn't go as well as we had hoped. The Brewers took 2 of 3 from us but there are some good things to come out of the series. The offense seems to be keeping up to it's first half power surge as they scored 14 runs in the three games. Cutch homered in each bringing his total to 21 which is second in the NL. He should be in the thick of the MVP race for the rest of the season if he keeps this up.

     Speaking of the thick of things, the Pirates are showing that they want to be buyers as there are talks that they are going after Justin Upton. If we can land him without giving up a lot of our system then it should put us in a great place for a stretch run at the division. Looking ahead, the second to last series of the season is at home against the Reds. Might be time to circle those dates on the calendar just in case.

#YouGottaBelieve

Karstens Owns The Stros

     Jeff Karstens pitched eight really strong innings of four hit ball as the Buccos completed the four game sweep of the Astros 2-0.

     Karstens allowed baserunners in the first, second, fourth, fifth, and sixth but none would get past second. He left after the eighth only throwing 8 pitches but didn't come out for the ninth due to his pitch count coming back from the DL. The Hammer would walk the first batter in the ninth but get a DP before walking another. The next batter would fly out to end it.

     The offense didn't do much but it did enough to get the W. They would get on the board in the second when Garrett Jones led off the inning with a double. Casey McGehee would come up next and hit a double himself to make it 1-0. They would get the final run in the third when Karstens would lead off the inning by helping himself with a single. After a Drew Sutton strikeout, Neil Walker would come up and hit a ground-rule double setting up second and third with one out. After a Cutch walk to load the bases, GFJ would hit a sac-fly to make it 2-0. The bases would load up again by way of a McGehee HBP but Pedro would strikeout to end the inning.

     We all knew that the Pirates wouldn't throw up big numbers in the run column every night but when you can throw in that shutdown performance every so often you can win these types of games. That's what separates the contenders from the "Others" (Right ESPN?).

Starters Lines

     Karstens: (W, 2-2) 8 IN, 4 H, 1 BB, 8 K's (1 to Norris)

     Norris: (L, 5-6) 7 IN, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K's 

Turning Point

     Karstens taking the mound. - The only Astros runner to reach second base was Jose Altuve in the first when he led off the game with a single then stole second. No one else would reach second the rest of the night. Dominance.

Stud/Dud of the Game

     Stud: Jeff Karstens - Need I say more?

     Dud: Pedro Alvarez -  0-3, 2 strikeouts, 4 LOB (Incl. bases loaded in the 3rd)

Final Thoughts

     -- This is the first 4 game sweep since 2006 (Brewers) and first 4 game sweep of the Astros since 1979, that year turned out to be a good one. 

     -- Rod Barajas was scratched from the lineup again due to soreness in his knee he injured in St. Louis. He is still day-to-day.

     -- The Pirates are now 10 games over .500 for the first time since '92 when they finished 30 over.

This Day in '92

L vs. CIN 2-1

     Doug Drabek went eight innings allowing two runs on nine hits but got the loss.

     Don Slaught went 1-4 with an RBI single and Gary Redus went 1-3 with a triple.

     Andy Van Slyke went 0-4 with a strikeout and a run scored.

The Lumber Company 2.0

     They were partying like it was 1979 at PNC as the Buccos broke out the bats in an 11-2 victory.

     J-Mac took the hill for the first time since being snubbed from the NL All-Star team and started shaky. He walked three and allowed a hit but got out of the inning only allowing a run. From there he would go six more allowing only another run by way of solo shot. It wasn't the typical J-Mac dominance, but he was able to escape jams and limit any damage. Jared Hughes would finish the game off by only allowing a hit.

     The offense continues to dominate as they put up eleven more runs and eighteen (yes, eighteen) more hits. they pounded out two homers, two triples, five doubles, and nine singles in the win. GFJ and Neil Walker started the scoring in the fourth by going back-to-back, both off of the right foul pole. The Lumber Company 2.0 would end up scoring four in the fourth and fifth, one in the sixth and two in the eighth to end the scoring. GFJ would lead the way with 4 RBI's, Walker would have 3, McGehee with 2, and Barmes and Cutch (MVP) would have 1.

Starters Lines

     McDonald: (W, 8-3) 7 IN, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K's (1 to Lyles)

     Lyles: (L, 2-5) 4 IN, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 6 K's (1 to McDonald)

Turning Point

     GFJ/Walker back-to-back homers in the fourth - The ringing of the right field foul pole began a barrage of runs that gave the Buccos another "breathe easy" win.

Stud/Dud of the Game

     Stud: Garrett Freakin Jones - 4-5, 2 singles, a double, a homer, 4 RBI's, and 3 runs scored.

     Dud: The Fort - 0-3 with 3 strikeouts and 1 LOB

Final Thoughts

     -- The Pirates are averaging 8 runs per game over their last 7 games (5-2) 

     -- Cutch and GFJ are the first 3-4 hitters to both go 4-5 in a game since 1975. 

     -- Chants of MVP MVP MVP broke out as Cutch went to the plate tonight. He is now batting .354 after tonight's 4-5 performance with an OPS just over 1.000.

This Day in '92

L vs. CIN 2-1

     Jeff Robinson allowed five hits and two runs in 4 2/3 of an inning for the loss. (7-5)

     Dave Clark had the only RBI of the game with a solo homer. (1-3)

     Andy Van Slyke went 1-3 with a walk, double and a strikeout.

Runs For Everyone!

      It was turn back the clock night. Well, it was for the Buccos as they put up a fourteen spot on the Cardinals in a dominating win.

     At first it seemed like it would be another disastrous outing for Kevin Correia as he would allow five runs in the first three innings to blow a 2-0 lead. It would remain that way until the fifth when the Buccos would tie the score with two outs by way of a Pedro Alvarez bases clearing double. From there it would be a Lumber Company flashback as they would homer three times in the sixth and one time in the ninth to lead the Buccos to a 14-5 victory. Correia would last five innings before being relieved by Brad Lincoln who would pitch three innings of one hit ball. Chris Resop would pitch a perfect ninth to end it. It's nice to actually be comfortable during a win for once. Let's do this more often, guys.

    The Pirate scoring would go as follows:
     1st Inn - Walker 2 RBI single.
     5th Inn - Pedro 3 RBI double 
     6th Inn - Clint Barmes solo shot, Alex Presley solo shot, GFJ 2 run shot.
     8th Inn - Casey McGehee RBI single, Pedro RBI walk.
     9th Inn - Cutch 3 run shot.

#YouGottaBelieve

Starters Lines

     Correia: (W, 4-6) 5 IN, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's (1 to Wainwright)

     Wainwright: (L, 6-8) 5 IN, 11 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 7 K's (1 to Correia)

Turning Point

     Pedro's 3 RBI double in the fifth. With the Buccos down 5-2 with two out in the fifth Pedro knocked a ball down the right field line to tie the game. It would turn the momentum in favor of the Pirates and they would not look back.

Stud/Dud of the Game

     Stud:  Cutch (MVP MVP MVP) - 4-5 with a walk, 2 singles, a double, a homer, 3 RBI's, and 4 runs scored.

     Dud: The Barge - 0-5 with 2 K's and 4 LOB. 

Final Thoughts

     -- Clint Barmes and Alex Presley went back-to-back in the sixth inning. The second day in a row that the Pirates have done that (McGehee and Pedro) and the fourth time this season. #TheLumberCompany

     -- The win keeps the Pirates a game behind the Reds for first place and puts them into the second wild card spot. Oh, and their half way to 82 wins, jus sayin.

     -- 14 runs is most scored in a game by the Pirates since Aug. 31, 2010, at Wrigley. (Via @BiertempfelTrib)

This Day in '92

L @ STL 3-1 

     Victor Cole went 6 1/3 while only giving up three runs on six hits but it wasn't enough to avoid the loss.

     Orlando Merced went 2-4 with a single, triple, stolen base, and a run scored. 

     Andy Van Slyke went 0-4 with a strikeout and a GIDP. Yikes 

Big First Inning Leads to Split

     A.J. Burnett allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings while a five run first powered the Bucs to a 5-4 victory.

     Burnett allowed a second inning homer to Erik Kratz (yes, that Erik Kratz) before throwing one hit ball from then into the sixth. After getting the first out, A.J. allowed two singles then a slow roller to Pedro that was almost turned for two but instead turned into the third run. He would get the first two outs in the seventh before allowing a walk to end his day. Juan Cruz would come in and allow a walk before getting the final out. Jason Grilli came in for the eighth and ended any chance at the all-star game by giving a lead off homer to Hunter Pence. He would allow two more to reach base before getting out of the inning with the Bucs clinging to a one run game. The Hammer would also make things interesting in the ninth when Jimmy Rollins singled then moved to second by way of sac bunt. He would steal third but that would be the farthest he would reach as the Hammer would get the last two to end it.

     The offense did their work early by scoring all five runs in the first. Drew Sutton led off the game with a single. Neil Walker would walk and Cutch would move Sutton by way of a fly out. Garret Jones would then get an RBI single to make it 1-0 and Casey McGehee would follow by knocking the ball into the left center field seats to make it 4-0. Pedro would come up next and continue the hit parade by sending a lazer to right making it 5-0. All the support the Pirates needed to get them back in the win column.

Starters Lines

     Burnett: (W, 9-2) 6 2/3 IN, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K's (1 to Kendrick)

     Kendrick: (L, 2-8) 7 IN, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K's (1 to Burnett)

Turning Point

     Jason Grilli striking out Jim Thome in the eighth. For the second day in a row, Jim Thome came up with a chance to give Philly the lead and left with a strikeout. He did crush a ball that curved foul earlier in the at bat that made a lot of us lose a few years in our life expectancy.

Stud/Dud of the Game

     Stud: Casey McGehee - 1-3 with a walk, homer, run, and 3 RBI's

     Dud: Clint Barmes - 0-4 with 3 strikeouts and 3 LOB

Final Thoughts

     --  A.J. Burnett has won his last 8 starts and has a great chance of getting win number ten before the all-star break. Doc Ellis was the last Pirate to win this many decisions in a row.

     -- Times might be getting short for Jose Tabata as he didn't start today. Clint Hurdle mentioned Jose taking the "Alex Presley route" by going down to AAA to regain his stuff.

     -- The Reds lost to the Giants pulling the Buccos to within a game of first place. The Pirates are also tied for the second wild card spot.

We're going to turn the clock back to 1990 for this, the original "You Gotta Believe" video.

The story behind the video is first, the music video starts at 4:49.

#YouGottaBelieve

"You Gotta Believe" written by Frank and Ray Falotico, sung by Ernie Pontieri.

This Day in '92

L @ MON 9-0

     Randy Tomlin allowed five runs on eight hits in the loss. Denny Neagle allowed four runs in two innings of work.

     Lloyd McClendon was 2-4 with a single and a double.

     Andy Van Slyke had the day off.

It's A McRun Fest

     J-Mac wasn't dominant but was good enough and the "Mc"Bucs played long ball in an 11-7 win in Philly. This was a game that @McEffect will have a field day with.

     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.
 

                             Picture courtesy of @dps2002 (A Phillies fan that has mad respect for Cutch) 
                                                                   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 

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.  

Bucs Play Sloppy, Lose 8-3

     Jeff Karstens made his first start since coming off of the DL and didn't get the welcome back he expected as the Buccos fell 8-3.

     We knew it would be a long one from the start when the Pirates played their worst defensive inning of the year in the first. Jose Tabata committed two throwing errors while showing some lack of hustle and Pedro added a throwing error himself all aiding in a four run first for the Phillies. Karstens would allow a run scoring single in the third and a two run shot by Jimmy Rollins in the fourth. All together it was a mix of errors, tough luck singles and some major league rust that doomed Karstens. I still see him as being a better pitcher than Lincoln and Correia but time will tell.

     The other Phillies run would come by way of a bases loaded walk given up by Doug Slaten in the seventh. Jared Hughes would pitch a perfect eighth.

     The Pirate bats didn't have it tonight as they scored three runs on eight hits. The Pirates had first and second with no out in the second but Clint Barmes would  GIDP to end that chance.. Jose Tabata led the scoring off in the third with a solo shot in the third. Clint Barmes would get an RBI single in the fourth after Neil Walker led the inning off with a double. The final run would come by way of a Cutch single in the fifth after Tabata reached by way of a throwing error. Other than that the Pirates were 3-16 with runners on base.

     Nobody said the Pirates were going to play undefeated or lose games by a run or two. They will get beat by a large margin at times but what team doesn't. With the team's three best starters coming up there should be no reason to panic.


                                                                       Starters Lines
     Karstens: (L, 0-2) 5 IN, 11 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 4 K's (1 to Blanton)
     Blanton: (W, 7-6) 7 IN, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K's (2 to Karstens)


                                                                       Turning Point
     Barmes GIDP in the second. Trailing 4-0, the Buccos got back-to-back singles to start off the inning. Barmes would then follow with the GIDP ending the chance of getting back into the game early on.

                                                                  Stud/Dud of the Game
     Stud: The Fort - McKenry went 2-4.

     Dud: Tabata - The two errors and possible lack of hustle lead to an early deficit and got Karstens pitch count up.

                                                                       Final Thoughts
-- Rod Barajas left the game early after twisting his knee in a home plate collision with Jimmy Rollins. X-Rays were negative and he is listed as day-to-day.

-- The Reds won tonight giving them a 2 game advantage in the Central.

-- The Pirates acquired infielder Drew Sutton off of waivers. He was with the Pirates for a day back in May before being traded to the Rays for cash. He will join the team tomorrow.