Astros Wrap Up

Scores:
Friday: 1-0 Loss vs Houston. Great pitching, no clutch hitting. Box score.
Saturday: 5-2 Win vs Houston. Good team win. Box score.
Sunday: 3-2 Win vs Houston. Tie in the ninth, win in extras. Box score.

Season Record: 16-18, 3rd place in NL Central, 4 games back

Notes: With any offensive execution at all on Friday this could have been a sweep. It has become commonplace to say that the pitching is carrying the team, but four earned runs in three games is excellent for any team in any league. Big kudos to James McDonald, Charlie Morton, A.J. Burnett and the entire bullpen. Two names carried the hitting: Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata. Both happen to be signed to long term deals. Neil Walker looks very nice in the two-hole. I think it suits his talents better than cleanup. Much-maligned Rod Barajas and Clint Barmes combined to go 5 for 14 (.294) this weekend. I used to love Nate McLouth, but I just don’t see what he has left as a hitter right now. Pinch hitting him for Casey McGehee in the ninth inning yesterday made no sense to me. Every position player got at least four at bats this weekend. The only players not used were Brad Lincoln, Kevin Correia and Erik Bedard, the next three starting pitchers.

Combined Box

Pittsburgh	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG	OBP
McCutchen, A, CF	12	1	5	2	1	3	4	0.417	0.462
Tabata, LF-RF	12	3	3	1	1	2	4	0.250	0.308
Walker, 2B	11	1	2	1	0	2	0	0.182	0.167
Alvarez, 3B	10	1	2	1	1	7	2	0.200	0.250
Barajas, C-1B	7	0	3	0	0	0	0	0.429	0.429
Barmes, SS	7	1	2	1	0	2	0	0.286	0.250
McLouth, LF	6	0	0	0	0	3	6	0.000	0.000
McGehee, 1B	5	1	0	0	3	2	3	0.000	0.375
Navarro, RF	5	0	0	0	0	1	5	0.000	0.000
Harrison, SS	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	0.250	0.250
McKenry, C	4	0	0	0	1	0	1	0.000	0.200
Presley, PH-LF	4	0	0	0	0	2	4	0.000	0.000
Jones, G, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	0	3	0.000	0.000
Morton, P	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
Burnett, AJ, P	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.000	0.000
McDonald, J, P, PH	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.000	0.000
Totals	97	8	18	7	7	29	32	0.186	0.234

Batting
Doubles (6): Barajas (4), Alvarez (5), Walker 2 (5), McCutchen, A (7), Barmes (8)
Triples (2): Tabata 2 (2)
HomeRuns (2): McCutchen, A (3), Tabata (2)

BaseRunning
SB: McCutchen, A (6), McGehee (1)
CS: McCutchen, A (3)
PO: Harrison

Fielding
Errors: Alvarez (8), Burnett (1)
Double Plays: (Alvarez-Walker-Jones), (Navarro-McGehee), (Barmes-Walker-McGehee), (McGehee-Harrison-Burnett), (McGehee)

Pitching

Pittsburgh	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA	WHIP
Burnett, AJ	8.0	6	2	2	0	4	0	2.25	0.750
McDonald, J (L, 2-2)	8.0	4	1	1	2	8	0	1.13	0.750
Morton (W, 2-3)	6.0	7	2	1	1	0	0	1.50	1.333
Watson (H, 3)(W, 3-0)	2.7	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00	0.000
Cruz, J (S, 3)	2.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00	0.500
Grilli	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0.00	1.000
Hanrahan	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.00	1.000
Hughes, J	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.000
Resop (H, 3)	0.3	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00	3.000
Totals	30.0	19	5	4	5	16	0	1.20	0.800

 

Transaction: Activated Joel Hanrahan from the Bereavement List. Placed Daniel McCutchen on the 15-day DL with a left oblique strain suffered in batting practice.

Series Preview: The Astros

Current record: 14-17, 3rd place (tie) in NL Central, 6.0 games back

Up Next: Houston Astros, 14-17, 3rd place (tie) in NL Central, 6.0 games back

The battle for 3rd place begins tonight! What, not exciting enough? Then tune in to see 22-yr old Jose Altuve, who’s really fast and has been the surprise best player on Houston. Old pals Brian Bixler and Chris Snyder plus one time almost-a-Pirate Brandon Lyon are in town too. This is the first of three times Houston comes to town before they switch to the American League next season.

Probable Pitchers
Friday: RH Bud Norris (2-1, 37.1 IP, 33 K, 4.58 ERA, 1.39 WHIP)
vs. RH James McDonald (2-1, 36.2 IP, 31 K, 2.70 ERA, 1.09 WHIP)

Norris has the tools but has yet to acheive consistancy, something that was always said about McDonald before this season.

Saturday: LH J.A. Happ (2-2, 34.1 IP, 34 K, 5.24 ERA, 1.57 WHIP)
vs. RH Charlie Morton (1-3, 27.1 IP, 20 K, 4.61 ERA, 1.46 WHIP)

Morton is tinkering with his sinker, trying to get it to drop like it did last year when he was a ground ball machine. Despite how it’s written, Happ pronounces his name “Jay.”

Sunday: LH Wandy Rodriguez (3-3, 46.1 IP, 29 K, 2.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP)
vs. RH A.J. Burnett (1-2, 23.2 IP, 27 K, 6.08 ERA, 1.44 WHIP)

A matchup of each team’s ace, which usually means lots of runs will be scored.

Pirates Lineup: McLouth in for Alex Presley again. Looks to me like Clint Hurdle is playing the “hot” hand, since Presley has been slumping and Hurdle says he’s seen Nate make strides in his approach lately. Expect to see Casey McGehee play vs lefties the next two games.

Jose Tabata RF
Nate McLouth LF
Andrew McCutchen CF
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Neil Walker 2B
Garrett Jones 1B
Rod Barajas C
Clint Barmes SS
James McDonald P

Don’t forget to enter the ticket giveaway contest before the end of the first inning tonight!

Reds Wrap Up

Scores:
Friday: 6-1 Loss vs Cincinnati. No bats. Box score.
Saturday: 3-2 Win vs Cincinnati. James McDonald is on. Box score.
Sunday: 5-0 Loss vs Cincinnati. No bats again. Box score.

Season Record: 12-16, 4th place (tie) in NL Central, 5 games back

Notes: Well, I was wrong about this one. I thought the Reds’ pitching was weak enough for the Pirates to score some runs. Four runs in three games is horrible. Andrew McCutchen missed two more games with the flu. Nate McLouth did okay in his place. Pedro Alvarez‘s hot hitting has resulted in being moved up to the cleanup spot.

Combined Box

Pittsburgh	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG	OBP
Walker, 2B	11	1	4	2	1	1	5	0.364	0.417
Tabata, RF	10	1	2	0	1	2	1	0.200	0.333
Barmes, SS	10	0	1	0	0	5	7	0.100	0.100
Presley, LF	9	1	1	1	0	3	3	0.111	0.111
McLouth, CF	8	1	3	0	1	2	3	0.375	0.444
Alvarez, 3B	7	0	1	1	4	2	2	0.143	0.417
McGehee, 1B	7	0	1	0	1	3	7	0.143	0.250
Jones, G, RF, 1B	6	0	1	0	0	1	5	0.167	0.167
Barajas, C	6	0	0	0	0	0	2	0.000	0.000
McKenry, C	4	0	0	0	0	3	1	0.000	0.000
McCutchen, A, CF	3	0	1	0	1	1	1	0.333	0.500
Navarro, PH-LF, SS	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	0.000	0.000
Correia, P	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.500	0.500
Morton, P	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	0.000	0.000
McDonald, J, P	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
Harrison, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
	91	4	16	4	9	27	39	0.176	0.250

Batting
Doubles (3): Barmes (7), Jones (5), Tabata (5)
HomeRuns (2): Walker (1), Presley (2)

BaseRunning
CS: Tabata (4)
PO: Tabata, McCutchen

Fielding
Errors: Morton (3), Alvarez (6)
Double Plays: McGehee-Barajas, Barmes-Walker-McGehee, Barmes-McGehee, McCutchen-Walker, Alvarez-Walker-McGehee (2)

Pitching

Pittsburgh	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA	WHIP
Correia(L, 1-2)	7.0	9	5	5	1	3	2	6.43	1.43
McDonald, J(W, 2-1)	6.3	6	1	1	2	7	0	1.42	1.26
Morton(L, 1-3)	6.0	7	5	4	2	5	2	6.00	1.50
Hughes, J	2.0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0.00	1.50
Resop	2.0	3	1	1	3	1	1	4.50	3.00
Hanrahan(S, 5)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
Lincoln	1.0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0.00	2.00
Grilli(H, 6)	1.0	2	1	1	1	2	0	9.00	3.00
Cruz, J(H, 4)	0.7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
	27.0	30	13	12	11	19	5	4.00	1.52

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Weekend Preview: The Reds

Current record: 11-14, 3rd place in NL Central, 5 games back

Up Next: Cincinnati Reds, 12-12, 2nd place in NL Central, 3.5 games back

The Reds pitching has been pretty bad so far and the offense has been all Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. If the Pirates can keep those two in check and keep hitting like they have the last few games then they should win the series. A sweep would have the Bucs in second place on Monday.

Probable Pitchers
Friday: RH Johnny Cueto (3-0, 32.1 IP, 22 K, 1.39 ERA, 1.05 WHIP)
vs. RH Kevin Correia (1-1, 22.1 IP, 9 K, 2.42 ERA, 1.03 WHIP)

Saturday: RH Mike Leake (0-3, 21.2 IP, 9 K, 6.65 ERA, 1.57 WHIP)
vs. LH James McDonald (1-1, 30.1 IP, 24 K, 2.97 ERA, 1.06 WHIP)

Sunday: RH Mat Latos (1-2, 28.2 IP, 18 K, 5.97 ERA, 1.57 WHIP)
vs. RH Charlie Morton (1-2, 21.1 IP, 15 K, 4.22 ERA, 1.45 WHIP)

No lineup available yet.

Update 4pm: Lineups just posted, thanks to Kristy Robinson of Pirates Prospects. Pedro moves up to the 5th spot. Looks like Andrew McCutchen is still feeling sick.

Jose Tabata RF
Alex Presley LF
Nate McLouth CF
Neil Walker 2B
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Garrett Jones 1B
Clint Barmes SS
Rod Barajas C
Kevin Correia P

vs.

Zack Cozart SS
Drew Stubbs CF
Joey Votto 1B
Brandon Phillips 2B
Jay Bruce RF
Scott Rolen 3B
Chris Heisey LF
Ryan Hanigan C
Johnny Cueto P

Evened Up

A brief phone post. Time is short for me this morning.

The Pirates held on for a great win against the Braves last night, 4-2. Erik Bedard struck out 9 in 5 innings. Pedro Alvarez had 2 doubles. Jason Grilli and Joel Hanrahan struck 5 in two innings and Nate McLouth overcame resounding boos to make a leaping catch against the wall for the last out. Same two teams go again today at 1:35.

Weekend Preview: The Braves

Sorry for not posting after Wednesday’s game 2. I needed to unplug for a bit but I’m back, refreshed and ready for a packed weekend.

For one inning, the bats finally came alive. Fortunately, that was enough. A five-spot in the fifth gave the Bucs all they would need to beat the Rockies, split the doubleheader and take the series. Props go to Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez for back-to-back homers. A big assist goes out to Rockies’ LF Carlos Gonzalez who twice lost balls in the sun before switching to a pair of flip-down shades.

Current record: 8-10, 4th place in NL Central, 3.5 games back

Up Next: Atlanta Braves, 12-7, 2nd place in NL East, 2 games back

I will be LIVE at all four games this series, since its my one chance to see the Pirates this season without travelling. If you’ll be there too then let me know and we can meet up. Last year all four games went long – two rain delays and two extra inning tilts – including the 19 inning Jerry Meals affair.

Probable Pitchers
Friday: RH Tommy Hanson (2-2, 24 IP, 23 K, 3.38 ERA, 1.21 WHIP)
vs. RH A.J. Burnett (1-0, 7 IP, 7 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.71 WHIP)

Saturday: RH Randall Delgado (2-1, 15.2 IP, 17 K, 5.74 ERA, 1.53 WHIP)
vs. LH Erik Bedard (0-4, 24 IP, 17 K, 2.63 ERA, 1.42 WHIP)

Sunday: RH Tim Hudson (2012 debut)
vs. RH Kevin Correia (1-0, 18 IP, 9 K, 2.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP)

Monday: LH Mike Minor (2-1, 26.1 IP, 21 K, 3.42 ERA, 0.99 WHIP)
vs. RH James McDonald (0-1, 22.2 IP, 14 K, 2.78 ERA, 1.01 WHIP)

No lineup available yet, but here’s my guess:

Alex Presley LF
Jose Tabata RF
Andrew McCutchen CF
Neil Walker 2B
Garrett Jones 1B
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Clint Barmes SS
Rod Barajas C
A.J. Burnett P

There’s a decent chance that Nate McLouth starts two games this series. See you at the Park.

Update: The lineup is in and I was way off. I thought Clint Hurdle would go with the “normal” order due to yesterday’s off day. Actual Lineup:
Alex Presley LF
Clint Barmes SS
Andrew McCutchen CF
Garrett Jones RF
Neil Walker 2B
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Casey McGehee 1B
Rod Barajas C
A.J. Burnett P