Pirates 3, Mets 2: Pleasant surprise

J.A. Happ did not win over very many fans in the Steel City after making his team debut against the Chicago Cubs on August 4th. Happ struggled greatly against the Cubs, allowing 4 earned runs on 9 hits in just 4.1 innings of work. So, when Happ took the hill on Friday for an important game with the NL East leading New York Mets at Citi Field, many Bucs fans held their breaths, expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Happ gave the fans and his teammates his best, going 5.1 innings and allowing just 1 earned run on 7 hits and striking out 7. Although Happ received a no-decision, he was a winner in the eyes of the Pittsburgh faithful and his peers, and due to his efforts, he is my choice for game MVP.

The Bucs did not take long to get on the board, as Neil Walker, who was just the 2nd batter of the game hit his 12th homerun of the season off of Bartolo Colon, giving the Bucs a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd, Happ ran into trouble. It looked like Happ might add to the worries of Bucs fans when he allowed a Juan Lagares single, followed by a Curtis Granderson double to start the inning. But Happ did a masterful job, striking out Yoenis Cespedas, getting Juan Uribe to pop out and, finally, striking out Daniel Murphy to amazingly escape the inning allowing no runs to cross.

In the bottom of the 6th, Happ had his only blemish of the night by allowing a Cespedas homerun, the 20th of the season for the newly acquired Met outfielder. After allowing a double to Daniel Murphy, Clint Hurdle pulled Happ in favor of Jared Hughes, marking the end to an impressive night for J.A. Hughes got out of the 6th and also pitched a scoreless 7th, keeping it at 1-1. The score would remain the same through 9 innings of play, meaning that the game would have to go to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, Chirs Stewart led off with a single, bringing up pinch-hitter Francisco Cervelli. Cervelli and Starling Marte, who was pinch-running for Stewart executed a perfect hit and run, with Cervelli hitting a single to left field and Marte, who was running on the pitch, getting to 3rd, making it 1st and 3rd with nobody out.

 Gregory Polanco was up next, and he would drive a single to right field, giving the Bucs a 2-1 lead. This was my nomine for play of the game, as it was the go-ahead run and was a perfect set up to what would eventually be the winning run. After Neil Walker grounded out, moving the runners to 2nd and 3rd, Mets manager Terry Collins decided to walk Andrew McCutchen intentionally, loading the bases for Aramis Ramirez. Ramirez would hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Cervelli from 3rd and making it 3-1.

The insurance run would prove to be vital, as Mark Melancon would allow the Mets to get one back in the bottom half of the 10th on a sacrifice fly by Curtis Granderson. But Melancon would bear down to get the next 2 outs for his 36th save of the season, sealing a huge win for the Bucs.

Arquimedes Caminero got the win after pitching a scoreless 9th, improving to 3-1 on the year, while Bobby Parnell got the loss out of relief for the Mets, falling to 1-2. Pittsburgh now has a record of 67-46, still 6 games back of St. Louis in the NL Central and 1.5 games up on the Cubs for the 1st wildcard spot. Charlie Morton is on the hill tonight for the Pirates at Citi Field, while Jonathon Niese will oppose him for the Mets. First pitch is at 7:05.

Cards 4, Pirates 3: Game Recap/Awards

Well last night was a tough one. The Pittsburgh Pirates began a very important series with the first place St. Louis Cardinals, entering the game 5 games back. The Bucs got off to a 3-1 lead, but St. Louis came back with 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th, taking a 4-3 lead that would hold for the rest of the night. Here is a recap of how the scoring went down, as well as a few ''awards '' for the evening.

 

The Bucs got off to a fast start. In the top of the first, Jung-Ho Kang doubled home Starling Marte for to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead. The bad news about this play was that Aramis Rameirz was on first base, and did not score on a ball which any other position player on the team likely would have scored on, preventing Pittsburgh from adding on in the first. Nonetheless, the Bucs had the lead and it was up to Jeff Locke to keep that lead intact. Locke was not able to do this, as the Cards tied it up in the bottom half when Jason Heyward grounded into a fielders choice, scoring Kolton Wong.

 

Pittsburgh retook the lead in the top of the 3rd when Ramirez singled home Gregory Polanco, giving the Bucs a 2-1 lead. Pedro Alvarez would give the Bucs an insurance run in the 4th by taking Carlos Martinez deep to dead center field for his 16th homer of the season, making it 3-1. The top of the 5th looked promising, as Polanco and Marte both singled to start the season . But Andrew McCutchen hit into a double play and Aramis Rameirz flew out to end the threat. The bottom of the 5th is when things fell apart. After Kolton Wong and Johnny Peralta both walked to start the inning, Jason Heyward singled to right, scoring Wong. After a groundout by Randall Grichuk moved the runners to 2nd and 3rd, Yadier Molina brought home Wong with a sac fly to tie the game. Heyward would come home one batter later on a single by Steven Piscotty, giving St. Louis a 4-3 lead that would hold for the rest of the game.

 

Carlos Martinez was dominant on the mound from here on out, shutting down the Bucco bats for the next 3 innings before making way for Trevor Rosenthal to shut the door for his 34th save in the 9th inning. Jeff Locke took the loss, going 5 innings and allowing 4 earned runs on 7 hits while walking 3 in another underwhelming performance, falling to 6-7 on the year. After a shaky first 2 innings, Carlos Martinez settled down for the Redbirds, finishing with 3 earned runs while allowing 9 hits, striking out 8 and walking none over 8 innings of work, getting the win and improving to 12-4 on the year.

 

Now that I have written the game recap, I will now give out my ''awards'' for the game. Let's get into it.

 

Game MVP: Carlos Martinez

This was a tough one to give out, as Martinez, Kolton Wong and Steven Piscotty all played key roles in the Cardinals victory. But I am giving the game MVP Award to Carlos Martinez because of how well he kept himself together. Martinez worked himself into trouble on multiple occasions, none more important than getting Andrew McCutchen to ground into a key double play after allowing back to back hits to start the 5th inning. From the 5th inning onward, Martinez was fantastic, allowing no runs and striking out 3 batters, not allowing the Bucs to get back in the game. Martinez went 8 innings, which could pay dividends in the series, as the Cards bullpen was spared for the night aside from Rosenthal, saving some key arms possibly for the rest of the series. Martinez didn't exactly pitch a gem, but he allowed his team to win by bailing himself as well as his teammates out of some potentially dangerous situations.

 

Goats of the Game: Jeff Locke and Andrew McCutchen

I'm giving this dubious award to two players as opposed to one because I didn't want to choose between them. Both Locke and McCutchen were not at their best on Tuesday. Locke was playing with fire through the first 4 innings, just barley managing to escape without getting burned too badly. But it all caught up with him in the 5th, when he allowed 3 runs, turning a 2 run lead into a 1 run deficit. Locke's ERA is now an unimpressive 4.43, and Bucs fans are not pleased with the way he has been performing. McCutchen was unimpressive as well, going 0-4 with 2 strikeouts, both of which were with men in scoring position and he was luckily bailed out by Jung-Ho Kang and Aramis Ramirez, who both would drive in runs in the innings where Cutch failed to get the job done. The main reason that McCutchen shares this honor is for his at bat in the 5th inning, where with men on 1st and 2nd and nobody out, the Bucs up 3-1 and a chance to break the game open, #22 hit into a double play, killing the momentum. I believe that the Bucs could have had a big inning if McCutchen drove in a run or at least moved the runners over, but he did not do either and the Cards took advantage with 3 runs in the 5th. I believe McCtuchen's at bat turned the game around, and for that reason I think it was the most important play of the night.

The Bucs are now 65-45, and fall to 6 games back in the NL Central. With the Cubs defeating the Brewers, Pittsburgh now holds a 3 game lead over Chicago for the 1st wildcard spot. Gerrit Cole will take on Michael Wacha in what should be a great pitchers match-up. All the Bucs can do is move forward and forget about last nights game.

Bucs Sweep Dodgers: Series Awards

Series MVP: Andrew McCutchen

After splitting back to back series with the Reds and Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans were very refreshed by a delightful 3 game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park. The sweep could not have come at a better time for the Bucs, as they are entering a crucial 3 game set with the first place St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. I will now highlight the highs and lows (but mostly highs) from this 3 game series by giving out what I will call the ''series awards''.

 

As often happens, Andrew McCutchen stole the show. The star Centerfielder finished the series with a stellar stat line: 6 for 13 at the plate, 5 runs scored, 3 walks, a homer, and 5 RBI. After a slow start to the season, Cutch is back to being himself. He currently is batting .301, with 17 home runs and 71 RBI, and an on base percentage of .398. He went 2 for 6 Sunday, and played a huge role in the Bucs come for behind win, hitting a 2 run homer in the 5th and driving home a key insurance run in the 7th with a single. Cutch's performance over the weekend was excellent, which is what we've come to expect of a player of his caliber.

Series Least Valuable Player: Charlie Morton

There isn't a whole lot to complain about this 3 game set, but Charlie Morton's performance on Sunday night is at the top of the short list. Morton simply did not have it, following up an excellent performance in Cincinnati by allowing 5 runs and 10 hits over 5 innings, and leaving the game with the Buccos in a 5-1 hole. Morton is very fortunate that his poor showing was overshadowed by a thrilling come-from-behind win by his club, highlighted by a 9-run 7th inning. There could be cause for concern in  the Bucs rotation, as the Bucs arms have been struggling ever since the All-Star break. Morton will need to become more consistent if he wants to help ease the concerns of the Bucco faithful.

 

Best Moment: Francisco Liriano's 3 run homer



There are a lot of highlights to choose from: Pedro Alvarez's walk-off singe in the 10th inning on Friday night; Mark Melancon getting out of a sticky situation in the top of the 9th on Saturday; and pretty much the entire 7th inning on Sunday. But I'm picking Francisco Liriano's homer tops because no sane person saw it coming. Here was the situation: after Jung Ho-Kang and Neil Walker started the bottom half of the 2nd inning with back to back singles, the Bucs looked like they had something going. But Alvarez grounded out, moving the runners to 2nd and 3rd, and Francisco Cervelli followed by grounding out to first, with first baseman Adrian Gonzalez throwing out Kang at the plate. So now there were 2 outs, men on 2nd and 3rd and pitcher Francisco Liriano coming to the plate, and it looked like pitcher Mat Latos was going to escape by allowing no runs. But Liriano surprised everyone by taking Latos deep for his first career homerun, barley clearing the left field wall and giving the Bucs a 4-2 lead.  Liriano's outing was forgettable, going just 3 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 7 hits, but his bat is what helped the Bucs pull out a gutsy 6-5 win, and it was a moment and a day to remember for Liriano.

Unsung Hero: Joe Blanton

After Liriano exited the game after the 3rd inning, Bucs fans were concerned as Joe Blanton entered the game. Although the Pirates had retaken the lead in the bottom of the 3rd, it's never good for a starter to leave the game early. To make matters worse, Blanton hasn't had a lot of chances to win over Pirate fans since being acquired shortly before the trade deadline, so many fans were on edge as to what would happen the rest of the game. To his credit, Blanton was able to calm a lot of nerves by pitching 3 innings of shutout ball on his way to picking up his first win in a Bucco uniform. I gave him the unsung hero award due to middle relievers often being overlooked, and Blanton's performance is one that has been greatly overshadowed by the many exciting moments of this series. 

 

The Road Ahead

The Bucs will now head to America's Heartland to take on St. Louis, where the first place Redbirds are currently 5 games ahead of the Bucs in the NL Central standings. It's a key series and could tell a lot about what will happen in the next month in a half. It will be another fun week of baseball, so sit back and enjoy it.

 

Pirates 7, Cubs 5: Bucs split abberviated 2 game set

After splitting a 4 game set in Cincinnati, The Pittsburgh Pirates split an abberiavated 2 game series with the Chicago Cubs to keep the trend going.

This was origanlly suspossed to be a 3 game set, but the number of games was reduced to 2 when Monday's series opener was cancelled in the top of the 5th inning due to rain. When the series resumed on Tuesday, the Bucs lost possibly the dullest game of the year by a score of 5-0. Jake Arrietta completely dominated the Pirate bats, allowing 0 runs and just 2 hits in 7 innings of work, while J.A. Happ struggled in his Pirate debut, allowing 4 earned runs over 4.1 innings. Anthony Rizzo starred offensively for the Cubs, going 4 for 5 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored.

Wednesday night was much better for the Bucs. Gregory Polanco got the party started with a leadoff homerun in the bottom of the first. Pedro Alvarez added to the scoring later in the inning when he drove home Andrew McCutchen with a 2 out bases-loaded single, with Aramis Rameriz getting thrown out at the plate trying to score from 2nd. The Bucs would add to the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd when Andrew McCutchen drove a solo shot to center field. The Cubs would get a run back in the next half-inning when Anthony Rizzo drove home Kyle Schwarber with a sacrifice fly. The Bucs would push the lead back the 3 in the next half inning, thanks in large part to a defensive gaffe by the Cubs.

With 2 outs and a man on 2nd, Starling Marte hit what should have been a routine grounder, but Kris Bryant and Starling Castro got crossed up between 3rd base and Shortstop. The Bucs had a 4-1 lead going into the top of the 6th, but that's when things got interesting. With a man on 1st, Kyle Schwarber hit a 2 run bomb to center field to close the gap to 4-3, and Anthony Rizzo tied it one batter later with a homer of his own.

The Pirates would not take long to reclaim the lead, as Gregory Polanco singled home Francisco Cervelli in the bottom half of the 6th. Andrew McCutchen would add an insurance run later that inning when he drove home Sean Rodriguez with a sac fly. The Bucs would add one more run for good measure in the bottom of the 8th when Rodriguez singled home Cervelli to make it 7-4.

Mark Melancon allowed a meaningless run in the 9th on his way to picking up his 34th save of the season and 32nd in a row, and the Bucs salvaged this shortned series with a 7-5 win. Antiono Bastardo got the win out of relief to improve to 3-1, while Tim Wood got the loss out of relief to fall to 4-4. The Pirates are now 6-4 in their last 10 games, so the team's overall form right now can be described as steady, with the loss of AJ Burnett to an elbow injury cause for concern as the teams pitching depth is in question. The Pirates are 6 games back of St. Louis in the NL Central race and 4 games up on the Cubs for the 1st wildcard spot. The LA Dodgers will come to PNC Park for a 3-game set, with Gerrit Cole facing off with Clayton Kershaw tonight.

Bucs take 3 of 4 from Nats: Nice turnaround

After stumbling out of the All Star break by losing 5 of their first 6 games, the Pittsburgh Pirates bounced back in a nice way by taking 3  of 4 games from the NL East leading Washington Nationals at PNC Park. The Bucs now have a record of 57-41 and are 6 games back of the Cards in the NL Central standings.

I have already recapped Thursday nights game here http://www.yinzyap.com/pirates-7-nats-3-that-was-nice/.

On Friday night, the Bucs got out to an early lead in the bottom of the 2nd when Pedro Alvarez greeted Max Scherzer with a mammoth 2 run blast to Right Field, giving Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead. That lead would hold until the 4th inning when Jeff Locke faltered, allowing for Washington to put up a 4 spot, giving the Nats a 4-2 lead. The game really picked up in the 5th. After battling Max Scherzer for 11 pitches, Gregory Polanco sent pitch number 12 over the Clemente Wall to tie the game at 4.

The Bucs would take the lead one batter later when Neil Walker took Scherzer deep, making it 5-4 Pirates. Washington would tie things up in the top of the 6th on a solo shot by Ian Desmond off of Vance Worley. Pittsburgh would take the upper hand in the bottom half of the inning when Brent Morel doubled, driving home Francisco Cervelli for the go-ahead run. Gregory Polanco would proceed to drive Morel home with a single, giving the Bucs some breathing room and a 7-5 lead.

Jared Hughes, Tony Watson and Mark Melancon would hold the Nats over the next 3 innings, with Melancon picking up his 31st save. Vance Worley got the win out of relief to improve to 4-5.

Saturday night was one to forget for Pirate players and fans. AJ Burnett was not sharp, allowing 5 earned runs over 5.2 innings. The Bucs tried to rally in the 6th, scoring 3 runs to cut into a 5-0 deficit, but it was not enough. The Nats would add 4 insurance runs over the next 3 innings, featuring homeruns by Michael Taylor and Ian Desmond(again), giving them a 9-3 victory. Burnett fell to 8-4 on the year with the loss.

On Sunday, Gerrit Cole pitched 7.2 innings of 1 run ball, leading the Pirates to a 3-1 win. Neil Walker homered and Andrew McCutchen and Gregory Polanco each had RBI singles, giving Cole all the offense he would need. Cole was also helped out defensively, with Gregory Polanco and Sean Rodriguez each robbing Bryce Harper of hits. Mark Melancon picked up his 30th consecutive save and 32nd overall, and Cole picked up his 14th win, improving to 14-4 on the year.

Overall, this series was just what the Bucs needed after a rough road trip. Sadly, this home stand was brief, and the Pirates will be starting a 3 game series with the Twins in Minnesota starting Tuesday night at Target Field. Charlie Morton will take the hill on Tuesday in an effort  to keep the Bucs rolling. The Twins are a good baseball team and have surprised a lot of people by playing solid ball in the AL Central. This will be another test on the Pirates road to the postseason, and as always, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Bucs drop 2 of 3 in KC: Cause for Concern?

The Pittsburgh Pirates currently find themselves in a bit of a funk. At the All Star Break, the Bucs were flying high at 53-35 and just 2.5 game back of St. Louis in the NL Central. But, after getting swept by the Brewers in Millawkue and dropping 2 out of 3 against the Royals in Kansas City, things aren't looking as bright as they were just a short while ago. Injuries have also began to pile up, as Jordy Mercer injured his knee on Sunday in Millawkue and will be out at least 6 weeks, making things even more challenging for the Bucs infield, as earlier this month Josh Harrison was put out of action for 7 weeks with a broken thumb. Many Pirate fans are frustrated with this stretch, but how do I feel about it? Well, we will find out at the end of this article.

 First, here is a brief recap of the 3 games that took place in Kansas City. On Monday, the Pirates grinded out a wild 10-7 win. Starling Marte and Travis Ishikawa each went 3 for 5, with Ishikawa driving in 4 runs. Gregory Polanco, Andrew McCutchen, Jung Ho-Kang and Pedro Alveraz contributed 2 hits each, as the Pirates had 17 knocks in total, picking up AJ Burnett who had a weak outing, allowing 6 earned runs over 6 innings of work, but getting the win anyway to improve his impressive record to 8-3, while Mark Melancon picked up his 30th save of the season.

Tuesday night was not as kind to the Pirates. Despite a usual stellar outing from Gerrit Cole, the Bucs offense could not get going the whole night. Things fell apart in the bottom of the 8th, when 3 straight defensive miscues from Neil Walker, Andrew McCutchen and Gregory Polanco all in succession, put a nail in the Pirates coffin for the night, and KC walked away with a 3-1 win.  Cole took the loss, falling to 13-4 on the year.

Last nights game was probably the least interesting of the 3. Charlie Morton pitched well, but imploded in the 7th, allowing 4 runs, and KC again got it done, this time by a score of 5-1. Morton fell to 6-4 on the year.

So am I worried? Ehh... not really. The reason I say ''not really'' instead of ''no'' is that the injury bug is hitting this team hard, and hopefully Francisco Cervelli's wrist problem is not too serious. But the Bucs made a smart baseball move today, getting former Pirate Aramis Rameriz from the Brewers and giving up next to nothing in return. Rameriz is 37 and not the player he once was, but he still has the ability to drive a ball a long way and I would certainly rather have him at 3rd base than Brent Morell. Bad stretches will happen over a 162 game season, and all it takes is a few wins to get things rolling again.

Bucs Sweep Padres: Team stays hot as Cards come to town

The Pittsburgh Pirates just continue to win. After a tough stretch in which they were swept by Washington and lost 2 of 3 to the Reds, the Pirates returned to their winning ways by winning 10 of their next 12 games. Last night Pittsburgh finished off a 3 game sweep of the San Diego Padres at PNC Park. The sweep did not come easy, as all 3 wins were decided in the late innings. This current hot streak that the Bucs are on could not have come at a better time, as Thursday night they will begin a crucial 4 game set with the first place St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park.

 The series began in exciting fashion on Monday night. AJ Burnett pitched excellent, allowing just 1 run over 7.2 innings of work, but the Pirates could not get much going offensively. With the game tied at 1 in the bottom of the 9th, Pedro Alveraz came to the plate with runners on 2nd and 3rd. The Big Bull delivered, hitting a single to drive home the winning run. More drama was to follow the next night.

Francisco Liriano pitched 6 innings of 2 run ball, but again the Pirates bats struggled to get runs across the plate, in spite of San Diego using their bullpen early as a result of a long rain delay. The Padres defense did not do the Bucs any favors, as Justin Upton robbed Andrew McCutchen of a potential go-ahead homerun in the bottom of the 6th. The Bucs hung in, however, and they were rewarded when Gregory Polanco drove home Sean Rodriguez with a double in the bottom of the 8th to make it 3-2. Mark Melancon shut the door and the Pirates ran their win streak to 4 games, counting the 2 wins over the Clevland Indians in the last series. This win was also significant because it was the first time the Pirates had ever won a series against San Diego at PNC Park. Charlie Morton got off to a slow start on Wednesday night, allowing 2 early runs through his first 2 innings of work. But Morton battled and did not allow a single run thorough his next 4 innings, giving the Pirates a chance to win.

With the game tied at 2 in the bottom of the 8th, Polanco again had a chance to be a hero when he came up with 2 outs and Travis Ishikawa on 1st. He did just that, driving a deep double off of the Clemente wall, scoring Ishikawa and giving the Bucs a 3-2 lead. Pittsburgh would add 2 more runs in that inning, and Antonio Bastardo shut the door in the 9th for his first save of the season.

So, this sets the stage for the Pirates biggest series of the 2015 season. Pittsburgh currently sits 4.5 games behind 1st place St. Louis, and this 4 game set could help make or break the division race. Baseball is so hard to predict, but my gut tells me that this series will be split 2 games apiece. Anything can happen, however, and this will be fun to watch.