Let's hope Cervy isn't too badly banged up. |
The Pirates continued their slumber through the seventh; that's an unlucky 13-in-a-row gone down with one hit. Steven Brault took over after a one-out Cubby rap - it was a great 99-pitch outing by The King, who gave up four hits and but for some outfield folly should have put up a zero - and tucked Chi-town away. Justin Wilson grabbed the ball in the eighth and the Bucs continued to flounder as he whiffed a pair. The Cubs got a bleeder infield knock with two outs, and Clint called for Kyle Crick. He gave up a double followed by an intentional walk to load 'em up, but he escaped by serving a pop up. Steve Cishek was handed the ball in the ninth and surprise - a 1-2-3 inning; the Pirates closed out the game with a streak of 19 straight outs.
Lester was good; he stayed out of the hitting zone, working mostly down and around the edges. His team also made a couple of plays behind him and Clint didn't exactly put his best eight on the diamond, although he can't be blamed for J-Hay & later Cervy being out of action. The Bucs? They need badly someone or something to inject some spark into their play; they manage to do just enough to lose, dropping their last three games by a five-run margin. And though it's easy to rip on Clint, it's performance that's losing games; the Pirates roster just isn't as strong as some of the other clubs'.
Nice outing by Nick; one routine catch and we might still be playing. (image source: Positively Pittsburgh) |
Notes:
- Ivan Nova will come off the DL tomorrow and start; a corresponding roster move hasn't been announced yet.
- The Pirates have been shut out in three of the past six games and scored two or fewer runs in five of their last seven.
- Indianapolis hasn't fallen into the same malaise as the big team; they've won six in a row going into tonight's game.
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