There was a time not long ago when the Pirates couldn't beat the Brewers if you spotted Pittsburgh five runs and started the game in the seventh inning. So who woulda thunk that the team the free-falling Pirates would beat up was Milwaukee?
The Pirates have taken four of the last five games from the Brew Crew - throw at Jeff Karstens, will ya? - and played their most complete game of the month tonight.
Ross Ohlendorf went into the eighth inning, and gave up a run on five hits. His heater was in the mid-90s again, and the couple of times he was in trouble, the Big O coaxed a couple of grounders from the Brewer bats to calm the storm.
The Pirates supported him with a clean game in the field, on the bases, and with a pair of homers from Delwyn Young and Lastings Milledge. Jesse Chavez gave up a meaningless run in the ninth, and the Bucs tucked a well-earned 5-2 win under their belt.
For Ollie, it was victory #11. He's been 4-1 with a 2.73 ERA in his last five starts, and along with Zach Duke has been Pittsburgh's horse on the hill since tweaking his delivery and going with the four seam heat more than the two seam sinker.
Hey, there's a lot of baseball to be played yet, and it is just one game. But at least now the Baby Bucs know that if they don't press and just play ball for nine innings, something good can happen. And for young guys still getting schooled, that's a valuable lesson.
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