For the Pirates to succeed, they're going to need steady work from the rotation. They got it yesterday from Paul Maholm, but for Ian Snell, it was deja vu all over again.
Snell lasted four innings, and gave up eight runs, six earned (little LaRoche committed his third error in two games; Perry Hill better take him to the woodshed) on nine hits and three walks while running up a pitch count of 79 and facing 24 batters.
He gave up a pair of homers, and even more discouraging, five of the eight runs came after there were two outs and the sacks empty, a tendency he showed last year. Snell seems to be more concerned about the last at-bat instead of the next one, and that's an attitude that's sure to lead to failure.
The long relief held up, although the youngsters had to dodge some self-inflicted wounds.
Donnie Veal gave up a solo homer in his inning, walking three and striking out three. When he finds the plate, he's a beast, but it'll be a long six months if he treats the strike zone like a taboo object. Veal tossed 28 pitches; just 11 were strikes.
Craig Hansen threw two frames without a run, though he had to sweat his way out of a bases-loaded, no out jam to escape unscathed. He yielded a pair of hits, walked two, and whiffed three.
Sean Burnett was the only guy to cruise on the hill, working an inning perfectly with a K.
Kyle Lohse pretty much had his way with the Pirate lineup, with Freddy Sanchez's two run shot in the sixth his only speed bump after the first inning, when Nyjer Morgan legged out a run. He singled, went to second on a Sanchez knock, and then tagged up twice to score.
Tomorrow night will see Zach Duke take on Todd Wellemeyer.
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