Monday, August 31, 2009

Second Verse, Same As The First

No need to bore you with the details. The Reds were up 3-0 after an inning, and though the Bucs put together one good inning to cut the score to 4-3, it was for naught as they went down 6-3, losing both ends of a twin bill to the Reds.

Paul Maholm's streak of strong pitching ended - hey, Pittsburgh's on the road, remember? - as he went five innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and three walks. Jesse Chavez, loser of the first game, put the finishing touches on the nightcap, too, giving up a two-run dinger in the eighth.

The stats tell the story of Pittsburgh's wayward tourists. The team ERA at PNC Park is 3.67; they hit .274 and average 4.6 runs/game at home. On the road, their pitching disintegrates. The ERA is 5.44. The hitters struggle, too, batting .242 and scoring 3.7 runs/game. They're 18-48 away from the Allegheny, a .272 winning percentage.

Well, at least they weren't as bad this August as last, when they went 7-21. The Bucs finish the dog days 9-19 this season. It's not much of a silver lining.

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