Pirates Morning Report: One Is Better Than None

Final Score: Pirates 3 Yankees 2

Why The Pirates Won: The up and down pitching staff was up yesterday limiting the Yankees to 2 runs, 4hits and 3 walks. The Pirate offense was not much better but was good enough to push across 3 runs to eke out the win. The Pirates had a bullpen day with Selby 2 innings, Jackson 4 and 1/3, Borucki 2/3, Mlodzinski 1 and Bednar getting the save pitching 1 inning. On offense Andujar hit a solo home run, with Delay and Peguero getting the other 2 RBI’s. On a side note, the Pirates, continuing from the game before, did go 28 batters before they got a man on base. They did not quite make 30 in a row. The Pirates were able to salvage the final game of the series for a 4-3 homestand. Now, they head out for a difficult 9 game road trip playing the Cubs, Reds, and Phillies. The last 4 series the Pirates play are all against playoff contenders. The Diamondbacks are quickly becoming Pirate fans.

The Key Moment Of The Game: In the bottom of the 7th with the score tied at 2-2, the Pirates had a runner on 2nd base with two out and Jason (I Wish I Was AS Good As The Pirate Broadcast Booth Thinks I Am) Delay at bat. The count was 0 balls and 2 strikes when this happened on the next 3 pitches. The first pitch was a curve ball that just caught the inside corner of the plate just below the letters but was called a ball. The second pitch Delay fouled one down the right field line that just went out of play by about 2 yards. The third pitch Delay hit an 82 MPH ground ball toward 3rd that just hit the inside edge of the third base bag and went into the corner to score the go ahead run to make the score 3-2. The Pirates’ luck had returned, and the bullpen made it stand up the rest of the way for a victory over the Yankees.

Next Game: Tomorrow, the Cubs in Chicago. Naturally the Pirates do not know who is going to pitch on Tuesday. At the minimum the Pirates need to win 3 out of the 9 games to get to 75 wins. I don’t know why I am focused on 75 wins. It just sounds like a nice round number to get to as far as wins are concerned. The Pirates will play meaningful games in September. They are just meaningful to the other team. Go Bucs! Break somebodies’ heart.