Well, the pitching was bound to hit a bump or two, and last night the long ball haunted them mightily. We can't say it wasn't due. The Pirate staff has been remarkably consistent, and the Cards hadn't scored a single run to support Adam Wainwright in April, setting up what the Gunner called the "hidden vigorish."
We'll just give the grisly generalities. Charlie Morton gave up six runs, the big blow being a three-run shot to David Freese in the fifth. He lasted just 4-1/3 frames, giving up eight hits and two walks to go with four K. He was up in the zone, an oddity for Morton, and the Cards made him pay.
Not that the bullpen gave him a lot of help. Jared Hughes gave up a three-spot in two innings, including a Matt Holliday dinger. Tony Watson gave up two hits while getting two outs, the last a two-run yard ball launched by, of all people, Rafael Furcal. Brad Lincoln alone escaped unscathed.
The Pirate D sprung leaks all over the board. The Cards got their first run when Garrett Jones dropped the ball trying to make a throw home. Yadier Molina came across when he was ignored by Morton and stole second on the jog, plating when Clint Barmes couldn't handle a two-out bleeder.Molina was the beneficiary again when he reached on an Alvarez boot and scored when he stole third - Molina! - and Rod Barajas' throw went astray.
In all, the Pirates committed four errors that allowed four unearned runs. The club has had some leather issues of late; the team UZR/150 is -2.8, and hopefully they'll shore that up.
The Pirates did show some fight, though. They cut the lead to 7-4 and 10-7 in the late innings behind Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez two-run bombs. They even had the tying run up in the eighth, but Nate McLouth lost his battle with Victor Marte to end the final threat.
Pedro and Neil Walker had a pair of hits, while Barajas and Cutch added extra base knocks.
Oh well, the Pirate strectch of alternating wins and losses has now reached 12 games, dating back to the West Coast trip. Guess it's Pittsburgh's turn to win today.
RHP A.J. Burnett (1-1, 1.38) faces RHP Lance Lynn (4-0, 1.33) at Busch Stadium.
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