Lineup, Notes, News for Brew Crew

The Brewer's RHP Yovani Gallardo (15-8, 3.72) takes the bump against RHP AJ Burnett (15-7, 3.66). Gallardo is the Brew Crew ace and hasn't lost since July 26th against the Nats. In fact, the Brewers have won each of his last nine outings. It a different trend for AJ, as Pittsburgh has lost his last five outings, mainly through lack of support, scoring just seven times in those games. The game is scheduled at 7:05 and will be aired by Root Sports.

We wouldn't particularly hold our breath waiting on the game, although the steady downpour that started last night is supposed to taper off to after lunch, and we have seen some scattered sky.

The lineup: Starling Marte LF, Jose Tabata RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Garrett Jones 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Clint Barmes SS, Rod Barajas C, AJ Burnett P.

The Kid is back *whew*

Milwaukee has won 8-of-12 matches between the teams this season, including a three game sweep at Miller Park a couple of weeks ago. The Brewers won 12-of-15 games in the 2011 series. The Brew Crew is on a roll and has won 20 of their last 26 games.

• Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLB Trade Rumors has a piece on how expensive Jason Grilli will become after the season.
• Kristy Robinson of Pirates Prospects tweeted that "The rotation is not set past Milwaukee and Kevin Correia will remain in. Clint Hurdle: 'We’re not adjusting Kevin’s schedule. He’s in the rotation. We’ll keep moving with him.'"
• Paul Casella of MLB.com has a piece on deadline day pitchers that are rockin' steady after slow starts with their new teams - Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez, Ryan Dempster and of course, Wandy.
• Chris Resop is the Pirates Clemente Award nominee. Congrats to Chris; he contributes countless hours to kid's causes, and not for recognition.
• The Pirates will switch their short-season Single-A team to Jamestown, N.Y. next year, but their stay there might not be long, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Trib. Jamestown already has asked the New York-Penn League for permission to relocate and could move to Morgantown, W.Va., in 2014 if, as expected, a stadium is built there.
  

KC Cruises 3-0

Yay for the MLB. They decided to schedule yesterday's get-away date with the Cubs as a night game, even though the three earlier games were during the day. The Bucs have no days off, so of course it rained. Twice, in fact, delaying the start until 11:42 Eastern time. But the clubs soldiered on, and thank goodness for everyone's favorite whipping boy in July, Kevin Correia, whose two-hit performance led the Bucs to a series-splitting 3-0 victory. Funny how he and Wandy have become the staff stoppers, hey?

It'll be a quickie recap, as there isn't much to recap.

Clint Barmes started the Bucco action when he led off in the third taking one for the team, and Brock Holt followed with a single to center. One out later, Starling Marte rifled a triple to left field and the next batter, JT, doubled to the center field ivy, and it was 3-0. That was your ball game; the Bucs had two hits more. Of course, when you whiff 15 times, there's not a lot of balls in play to end up hits. Travis Wood struck out five in a row over one span, giving him nine strikeouts and a new career high.

KC went seven frames, giving up two hits with a walk and six K (scarily, tying his season high), tossing 86 pitches. Both of the Cubbie hits were by Darwin Barney and both times he was erased on a 6-3 DP. Jason Grilli followed with a clean eighth inning and Joel Hanrahan saved his 36th game with a walk and whiff in the ninth.

All about pitching, right? The win kept things jumbled for the post season. Pittsburgh's next opponent is Milwaukee, and both teams are 2-1/2 games behind the Cardinals for the second spot, while the Dodgers sit a game behind the Redbirds. The Phillies are 3-1/2 games back of St. Louis, and D-backs are 4-1/2 games back to remain close.

Yovania Gilardo goes against AJ Burnett, although tonight's game, if the weatherman is right, will be a washout.

• Starling Marte is the first Pirates player to triple in three straight games since Andrew McCutchen did it in 2009, also his rookie season. The only other Bucco puppy to accomplish the feat was Bob Elliott in 1940.
• Jose Tabata continued his hot hand since his Indy trip, banging out two of the Pirates five hits.
• The 10:42 Central Time (11:42 Eastern) start was the latest in Cub history.

Lineup, News, Notes - Walker Out Of Lineup Again

RHP Kevin Correia (10-9, 4.29) will try to earn a split tonight against the Cubs LHP Travis Wood (6-11, 4.23). KC has given the Bucs a pretty solid five or six innings throughout the year and has won eight of his last 11 decisions. Wood, coming down the stretch run of his rookie campaign, tossed four-hit ball against the Astros in his last outing and has given up just one earned run in his last 13-2/3 innings. The game begins at 8:05 and will be aired by Root Sports.

The lineup: Starling Marte LF, Jose Tabata RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Michael McKenry C, Clint Barmes SS, Brock Holt 2B, Kevin Correia P.

JT and Gaby are in against the lefty; Travis Snider and GI are on the pine. Brock Holt is in the lineup, too, so it might be that The Kid's back hasn't respond very well, which is bad news if true.

Going into today's games, the Dodgers were a game behind the Cardinals, followed by the Brewers (2-1/2 back), the Pirates (three), the Phillies (four) and the D-backs (4-1/2) in the chase for the second wildcard spot. Atlanta has a seven game lead on the Cards for the #1 wildcard draw.

• Pedro Alvarez leads all NL third basemen this year with 29 home runs. Only two Pirates in history have hit 30 HR in a season as third basemen. They are Aramis Ramirez, with 34 in 2001, and Frank Thomas, with 31 in 1958.
• Cutch has reached base safely in nine of his last 11 PAs during the Cub series.
• The Bucs are looking at adding an arm from the Bosox, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
• Big home series against the Brew Crew starting Tuesday. It's the start of a 10-day, 10-game trip to Pittsburgh, Washington and Cincinnati by Milwaukee.
• Evan Meek wasn't claimed and the Bucs outrighted him to Indy. It looks like the team and Meek will part ways this off-season, one way or another.
• State College, the Bucs short-season A team, has signed with the Cardinals. The Pirates are looking at Jamestown or Batavia as a replacement club, then moving them to Morgantown according to Rob Beirtempfel of the Tribune Review.
• This day in history: In 1977, SS Frank Taveras tied and then broke Max Carey’s 1916 single season team record for stolen bases when he swiped his 63rd and 64th bags of the year in a 6-3 Bucco victory over the Expos in Montreal.

Cubs Stun Pirates 13-9

Chris Volstad barely survived his first batter, Starling Marte, who launched a drive to deep center, but not quite deep enough to elude Joe Mather's glove. After another fly out, Cutch drew a walk and Garrett Jones kept the inning alive with an infield knock that was generously ruled a hit. Cutch stole third to put runners on the corners, but to no avail as Gaby Sanchez went down swinging.

Jeff Locke got Mather on a long fly to left and Darwin Barney on a grounder. Anthony Rizzo banged a 2-2 heater the opposite way to left for a two bagger that just ticked off Marte's glove, and Alfonso Soriano picked up his 100th RBI of the year with a seeing eye single to center to give Chicago an early 1-0 edge.

With one down in the second, Clint Barmes singled to left center with two strikes. He came around when Rod Barajas caught an 0-2 sinker, above the knees and on the inside half, and went yard a few feet inside the left field pole for this tenth dinger of the season. Marte singled after a Locke bounce out and stole second. That was followed by a full count walk to The Kid. Cutch kept the two out good times rolling with a knock to left to plate Marte, with Walker stopping at second. Jones flied out, and it was 3-1 Buccos.

Locke beaned Welington Castillo to open the Cub half, then got Dave Sappelt on a deep ball to left that Marte corralled. After falling behind the eight hitter, Luis Valbuena 3-1, Locke came back to fan him. Volstad smacked a curve down the middle to center for a knock. Mather grounded out to Barmes, and the lead held at a pair of runs.

Barmes collected his second knock with two away in the third. Volstad stayed away from Hot Rod this time around, walking him on four pitches. Good idea; Locke tapped back to the mound to end the frame, and that's now six runners the Bucs have stranded in three frames. Barney opened the Cub half with a 3-2 walk. This at bat, Rizzo was the answer, not the problem, as he bounced one to Sanchez for a 3-6-3 DP that he didn't run out very diligently. Pedro dove to come up with Soriano's grounder and tossed him out to finish the frame.

After a Marte whiff, The Kid collected his first knock of the month, a single to right. Cutch followed with another single to right, but The Kid was tossed out at third, not running very well after his turn at second and still almost making it in, losing a bang-bang call at the sack. Cutch stole second, the Bucs third swipe of the game. Jones hit a liner the opposite way, but Soriano was there for the inning-ending grab. Pittsburgh has eight hits and three walks in four innings, but only a three spot to show for it, stranding seven so far and 1-for-5 with RISP. After getting Castro to fly out in the Cub fourth, Castillo reached on a Barmes boot, but Locke got the next pair of Cubbies routinely.

Sanchez opened the fifth with a full count knock to center. Pedro, in a September slump, decided it was time to El Toro a meatball sinker and crushed it to the opposite field and over the left center wall, clearing the yard and landing on Waveland Avenue, to make it 5-1. Hot Rod walked for the second time after a Barmes K and was moved to second by Locke. Alberto Cabrera took the bump to face Marte, who singled Barajas home and then swiped second, going to third when the throw got away. Walker whiffed, but the lead was much more comfortable at 6-1.

Locke got Josh Vitters to ground out, then tossed a first pitch heater down the middle that Mathers smoked out of Wrigley to make it 6-2. Barney followed with a knock to center. Locke is starting to leave pitches over the plate instead of working the edges, and that's not his game. Rizzo got an inside corner heater at the knees and creamed it over the fence, and suddenly the lead was down to 6-4. Soriano singled for the fourth straight Cubbie knock, and Clint Hurdle finally saw enough, calling for Chris Resop.

Locke lasted 4-1/3 frames, giving up five runs on seven hits and a walk with 2K, tossing 74 servings. Resop got Castro on a soft grounder, moving Soriano to second. Castillo singled to center on a 2-0 fastball. Soriano scored on an ill-advised throw to the plate by Cutch, with Castillo moving up to second. Sappelt whiffed, but like yesterday, a big Bucco lead has been whittled to a bare run.

The middle of the Pirate order faced Miguel Socolovich in the sixth. He lost McCutch on a full count change up that stayed off the dish. Jones went down swinging. Sanchez inside-outed an 0-2 pitch, banging it to right and putting Bucs at first and second. Lefty Jeff Beliveau took the ball to face Pedro. He got ahead 1-2, wasted a pitch, then hung a hook at the top of the strike zone and away. Pedro is feeling it today; he airmailed his second ball to Waveland Avenue to build the Bucco lead back to 9-5. Barmes walked on a 3-2 heater that was up and away. Hot Rod almost smacked his second of the day, but Mathers tucked away his blast at the wall in center. Harrison grabbed a stick for Resop, and went down swinging on three pitches.

Indy starter Rick Vandenhurk took the hill for Pittsburgh; it's looking a lot like an Indianapolis-Iowa AAA game, surprising with Jeff Karstens, Chris Leroux and Chad Qualls all available. Valbuena greeted him with a single, getting an 0-2 pitch in the middle of the plate. Bryan LaHair took the next pitch to right to put Cubbies at first and second to set up the top of the order. He set them up a little better with a wild pitch, then lost Mather on the next offering to load the bases. Jared Hughes came on, for the fourth time in five days.

Barney singled home a run. Hughes fell behind Rizzo 3-1, gave him a sinker down the middle at the knees, and the rookie blasted it out of the park to give the Cubs a 10-9 lead, his second bomb of the day. Chad Qualls took the hill. After two outs, he lost Castillo on a 3-2 count but got Sappelt to ground out to end the frame with the Cubs up by one.

The Bucs sent up the top of the order to go against Jaye Chapman in the seventh. Marte went to opposite way off him, leading off with a triple, rolling into third without a throw. The Kid hit into a bit of bad luck, lining out to second on a sweet grab by Barney. Cutch struck out looking on a full count heater that was borderline, followed by a Jones walk.

With Gaby Sanchez up, Jones broke for second; Chapman held the ball as no one was covering the base. It was a delayed steal; Marte took off when the pitcher pivoted, and was dead meat when Chapman hung on to the ball, turned and tossed it home. Chris Leroux took the bump against the Cubs and tossed a clean frame.

Shawn Camp took his turn in the eighth. He retired Sanchez on a fly and survived Pedro, getting him to drop a long drive on the warning track just short of the wall instead of on the Avenue. Clement flew out too, and the Bucs were down to their last dibs. 

Leroux lost Barney on a 3-2 pitch that just missed the corner; it's been a hitter's strike zone today, with a bumpy call or two.  He did prove Rizzo was human, getting him swinging through a pitch on the outside black. The glow didn't last long; he gave Soriano a low heater at the knees and he ripped a double to right to score Barney. Burner Tony Campana came in to run for him. The bad news continued as Castro legged out an infield single to put runners on the corners. Oooops, make that second and third; Castro swiped second. Leroux reached back to fan Castillo swinging. Hurdle brought in Justin Wilson to face David DeJesus for the lefty-lefty matchup. Not a good decision; DeJesus singled them both in. It was 13-9, with Carlos Marmol on the hill for the ninth.

Brock Holt led off with a walk, followed by a Travis Snider K. Marte rolled one to short, and the 6-4-3 put the Bucs out of their misery, maybe for the season.

Clint Hurdle is supposed to put his team in position to win, but the way he used the pen today sure didn't help matters. He's managing the Pirates, not Indy, and there's a reason guys are in the show. Trying to convert season-long starters into instant relievers isn't often an easy transition and so far K-Mac is the only Tribe guy that's succeeded at it.

The Bucs are three games out of the second wildcard, and now they're looking at Milwaukee's tailpipe, too, as they have three clubs to scramble past. Ah, well, looks like Steeler season is here.

Kevin Correia closes out the series against Travis Wood tomorrow night.

• Today was the sixth MLB multi-homer game by Alvarez and his fourth of the season.
• Cutch, Pedro, and GI have combined for eighty homers, making them one of Pittsburgh's Top Ten Murderer's Row.
• Jones' infield single in the first looked suspiciously like a boot on the part of 2B Darwin Barney, but with a streak of 130 errorless games, the home town scorer gave the infielder the benefit of the doubt.
• Today marked the first MLB grand slam and multi-HR game by Anthony Rizzo, and his six RBI are a personal high.

Lineup, Notes, News - J-Mick To Pen, K-Mac To Start

The Bucs send LHP Jeff Locke (0-1, 4.11) against the Cubs RHP Chris Volstad (3-10, 5.99). In his last outing against the Cubs a week ago, Locke gave up two runs, a pair of solo shots on fastballs. Volstad has been pitching better after a stint in AAA. Since early August, his ERA has been 4.08, although his control has been iffy, so it's key to not fish against him. The game starts at 2:20 and will be aired on Root Sports.

The lineup: Starling Marte LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Garrett Jones RF, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Clint Barmes SS, Rod Barajas C, Jeff Locke P.

Hot Rod is starting again. Sanchez is starting at first against a righty with Jones in right; we're not sure if Alex Presley still has a sore foot or is just sitting.

The Bucs are two games behind St. Louis and the Dodgers in the wildcard hunt. Since they play one another, the Pirates need a win today to stay two behind.

• Manager Clint Hurdle announced today that RHP Kyle McPherson will start Wednesday night and James McDonald will go to the bullpen starting Tuesday. Pittsburgh, even with a full house of starting pitching, will still stick to a five man rotation.
• The last time the Bucs were victorious on consecutive days during a road trip was against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on July 31st and August 1st.
• Pittsburgh starting pitchers are 56-55 this year. The last time the starting staff won as many as 56 games was 1999 (57-63) and the last winning campaign for Pittsburgh’s starters came in
  1992 (59-47).
• Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review reports that a source told him that the Pirates broke off talks about re-upping with short-season A State College. The Bucs could sign with Jamestown or Batavia.
• This day in history: In 1975, the Pirates beat the Cubs, 22-0, at Wrigley Field as Rennie Stennett set a MLB record by going 7-for-7.

Bucs Hang On 7-6 To End Skid

Hail to Pitt, Hail to Pitt...whoops, wrong fight song. Hail to Wandy, Hail to Wandy...there, that's better. Ol' Wandy Rodriguez is turning into the Bucco stopper, working the first six in the Buccos 7-6 streak-snapping win over the Cubbies.

Oh, he wasn't brilliant; he gave up nine hits, all singles, and tossed 95 pitches. But he only gave up one earned run as the Buc bats finally treated a waiver wire pitcher, Jason Berken, well, like a waiver wire pitcher. It took a while; the Pirates just scored single runs off him in the first three frames.

Starling Marte was plunked to open the game, and went to third when C Welington Castillo threw behind him on a pickoff try. Garrett Jones' fly scored him. To start the second, Pedro, Clint Barmes (on a hit-and-run) and Rod Barajas hit back-to-back-to back singles to plate another, a big inning being saved by Josh Vitters, who knocked down a bullet to third by Marte to save extra bases. Cutch began the third frame by falling behind 0-2, working the count full and then taking a Berken change over the left field wall.

Meanwhile, Wandy worked a clean first and got out of a modest jam in the second when The Kid started a DP nicely turned by Barmes. He was nicked for a run in the third when three ground ball singles found the grass, Anthony Rizzo's bringing in Joe Mather, who had stolen third, with two down.

The Bucs broke it open in the fourth in a frame that should have been a 1-2-3 affair. Barmes reached on a Vitters' boot, and was at third two outs later after a pair of grounders. Marte tripled him home, and Travis Snider followed with a bloop to tally Marte. Cutch singled and Jones doubled, going the opposite way and catching a break as his shot past third went off Vitters' mitt, chasing Snider in to make it 6-1. Wandy gave up a lead off knock, but erased Starlin Castro on a 6-4-3 two batters later.

The Bucs went down quietly to Rafael Dolis in the fifth while the Cubbies picked up a couple of unearned runs. An infield single and a throwing error on a force try put the first two Cubs aboard. A grounder and a soft two out roller by Alfonso Soriano rung up a pair to make it 6-3.  Jeff Belliveau took the mound in the sixth, and stranded a pair after a Marte double and intentional walk to Cutch, while Wandy left a Cub at first in their half.

Alberto Cabrera climbed the hill in the seventh, and with two down, Barmes slugged a heater over the wall in left to make it 7-3. Tony Watson and Jared Hughes teamed up for a goose egg. The Bucs went down cleanly in the eighth; the Cubs picked up another run of Jason Grilli with a leadoff double by Starlin Castro was cashed in by a Luis Valbuena knock.

Michael Bowden put up a zip for the Cubs in the ninth, and Hanny came on for his first save opp since August 27th. Kinda rough outing; he gave up a bloop double to Mather and walked Darwin Barney. After an out, Soriano singled home Mather and send Barney to third. Tony Campana came on to run, and and out later stole second, putting Cubbies at second and third with two away. Castillo walked to juice the sacks, and Jeff Samardzija ran for him. Valbuena drew a five pitch free pass to make it 7-6. But the drama came to an end finally; Dave Sappelt  went down swinging at a 2-2 heater.

Sure not pretty, but hey, it's a W. Jeff Locke goes against Chris Volstad tomorrow afternoon.

• Today's home run by Cutch gives him 28 on the season, tying the club record for most HR hit as a CF with Brian Giles (1999). 
• Despite the heart-thumping drama, Hanny has converted 35 of 38 save opportunities and now has 15 straight save conversions.
• Cutch (single and homer), Starling Marte (double and triple) and Clint Barmes (single and homer) each had a pair of hits for Pittsburgh.

Lineup, Notes, News - Walker, Snider Back

LHP Wandy Rodriguez (10-13, 3.72) takes the bump against RHP Jason Berken (0-0, 18.00) this afternoon. Wandy has been solid in his past few outings, and the Bucs need someone to come up big. Berken was claimed off waivers from Baltimore on September 7th. He has a career 10-17/5.40 line in the show, and is taking Jeff Samardzija's place in the Chicago rotation. Berken went 5-6 with a 3.50 ERA over 26 starts with AAA Norfolk, but in his only big league appearance this year, he was tagged for seven runs (two earned) on six hits in one inning of relief during the Orioles' 14-3 loss to Texas on May 7th. The first pitch is at 1:05 and will be shown on Root Sports.

The lineup: Starling Marte LF, Travis Snider RF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Garrett Jones 1B, Neil Walker 2B, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Clint Barmes SS, Rod Barajas C, Wandy Rodriguez P.

If the Pirates have one last hot streak left in them, this would be a good time to get it rolling; there are only 19 games left in 2012. Maybe Neil Walker will be the straw that stirs the drink. He's finally back in the lineup; the last game The Kid started was back on August 26th.

• Philly tied Pittsburgh in the wild card race yesterday; both teams are three games behind the Cards and one behind the Dodgers for the second spot. 
• Alex Presley is likely out for today after taking a pitch off the tootsie yesterday.
• Cutch leads the NL with 178 hits and is on pace for 202 this season. The last Pittsburgh player to lead the league in hits was Andy Van Slyke in 1992 with 199 while the last Bucco to collect 200 hits was Freddy Sanchez with exactly 200 in 2006.
• Gaby Sanchez has hit .280 with three HR and 10 RBI in 37 games as a Pirate.
• If you were wondering: Rod Barajas continues to get more starts behind the plate than Mike McKenry because he scores higher in the Pirates' proprietary defensive metrics, according to Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.

Another Day, Another Loss 7-4

Ya know, Green Weenie is surprised every time he opens up his Google account and actually sees readers still checking in on their Buccos. As bad as the Pirates have been playing for so long, we thought for sure everyone would be in pigskin mode by now.

Today was just another loss, the seventh in a row, chalked up to the pitching this time. James McDonald couldn't get through the fourth, and a tag team from the pen couldn't hold the Cubs at bay as the Bucs went down 7-4 at Wrigley.

J-Mick went just 3-2/3 frames, giving up four runs on five hits and four walks on 83 pitches and was sitting at just 90 MPH all day. It was scoreless into the Cubbie third, only because Chi-Town had stranded four runners in the opening pair of innings. Luis Valbuena led off the frame with a double, moved up a station on a bouncer and came home on Starlin Castro's two-out liner to center off a slider.

Over the first four innings, Chris Rusin held the Pirates hitless. The only runners were Clint Barmes, who took one on the hip for the team, and Starlin Marte, who reached on an error but was quickly erased when he broke early and was picked off.

The Cubs, meanwhile, sent McDonald to the showers in the fourth. With two down, the Cubs had Darwin Barney aboard on a walk. Two more free passes loaded the bases, and Clint Hurdle went for a lefty-lefty scenario, calling on Justin Wilson to face Anthony Rizzo. Wilson fed the first baseman a pair of heaters, and he drilled the second to right to plate a pair. Chris Leroux took the ball for a righty-righty matchup with Alfonso Soriano, who reached on an infield single off Clint Barmes' glove at short to make it 4-0.

Rusin owned the Pirates through the first four innings, but the Bucs were warming up at last. Gaby Sanchez yanked a slider to left for a leadoff double in the fifth, the Pirates' first hit. An out later, he touched home after Pedro Alvarez's single to left, scoring easily as Soriano lost his footing on the throw home. Pinch-hitter Jose Tabata singled to put runners on first and third with two down, but Brock Holt rolled a sinker to first to end the inning. The Cubs went down quietly against Kyle McPherson, who gave up a bloop hit to Barney.

Marte singled to open the Pirates' sixth, and Rusin was pulled; Dale Sveum didn't feel like pressing his luck any further. Maybe he should have; Jaye Chapman wasn't exactly lights out. A grounder and infield single by Jones put Bucs on the corners with one away. Sanchez's knock brought in Marte and The Fort walked to load the sacks. Pedro bounced out to first to plate him when the Cubbies couldn't turn the DP. The Kid made his first appearance of the month, but went down swinging at a heater. It was at least interesting again at 4-3.

Hurdle put in lefty Tony Watson to face the top three hitters in the Cubs' order, all lefties, in the sixth. He walked Valbuena sandwiched between a pair of outs, and the skipper called on Jared Hughes with a string of righties due. Probably a little overmanaging there; Hughes hit Soriano with his first pitch, and the second left the yard when Castro bombed a sinker over the left field wall to make it 7-3 Cubs.

Cutch hit his 27th home run, an opposite-field blast off a Manny Corpas slider, in the seventh. That was it; Chad Qualls & Bryan Morris (in his MLB debut) for the Bucs and Shawn Camp & Carlos Marmol of the Cubs put up zeroes the rest of the way.

Nothing like giving up seven two-out runs, hey? Whatever happened to the Pirate mantra of "finish?"

Wandy Rodriguez faces waiver claim Jason Berken tomorrow afternoon.

• .Brock Holt's eight-game hitting streak ended today with an 0-for-5 outing.
• The Pirates tied a team record for the fith time by using eight pitchers in a nine inning game.
• The Bucs extended their season high losing string to seven games and are 4-12 in their last 16 contests. That last number coincides with how many games it's been since Neil Walker started.
• The Cubs Chris Rusin earned his first MLB win today and set a personal high for whiffs with six.

Lineup, Notes, News For Cubbie Kickoff

RHP James McDonald (12-7, 3.93 ERA) takes on Cubbie LHP Chris Rusin (0-2, 5.73 ERA) this afternoon. J-Mick has had pretty much nothing but problems since the All-Star break. Rusin was solid against the Bucs last week, allowing one earned run on five hits and three walks over five innings with four whiffs. The game starts at 2:20 and will be shown on Root Sports.

The lineup: Brock Holt 2b, Starling Marte LF, Andrew McCutchen CF, Garrett Jones RF, Gaby Sanchez 1b, Michael McKenry C, Pedro Alvarez 3b, Clint Barmes SS, James McDonald P.

This is a big series - aren't they all? - because the Cards and Dodgers are going head-to-head while Pittsburgh is in Chicago, so there's an opp to make up a step or two in the chase, plus stay ahead of a hard-charging field. As the Bucs have discovered lately, overlooking teams doesn't cut it, and Chicago is a much better club at home than on the road.

• The Super Two cutoff this year is predicted to be at 2 years, 139 days. Neil Walker is the only Pirate player to make the cutoff. But he was always on track to be a Super Two player because of his May 2010 call-up date, so the Bucs should have his raise budgeted if a contract isn't in the offing yet.   
• Not too surprisingly, Rod Barajas, who has a $3.5M team option with no buyout for next season, says he's willing to talk turkey with the Bucs for a new, lesser deal. Funny how batting .197 will do that.
• The Pirates have lost six in a row, while the Cubs have taken 5-of-6
• The Pirates are three games behind St. Louis and one behind LA in the race for the last wildcard. And don't look back; the Brewers are within 1/2 game, Philadelphia a full game and Arizona 1-1/2 games of passing Pittsburgh.
• Just about time for the Fall Instructional League. Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects has the roster, some player info and a little background on the "instructs."
• BTW, there's more than one one to shake up a team during the deadline. Philly was a seller, getting rid of Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence. Then they took off, playing .634 ball (26-15) ever since.

The Post Deadline Bucs

OK, the Bucs stumbled both before and after the deadline, and continue to stumble through September. But that doesn't necessarily mean that their player moves were clunkers.

None of the players they added were difference makers ala Chase Headley or Justin Upton, to be sure. But except for the bullpen, where they could have stood one more back end arm, they probably did make themselves stronger, or at least deeper.

What has hurt badly down the stretch is injuries; the team hasn't had Neil Walker's services since August 27th, Travis Snider has been on-and-off with hammy problems, and Jeff Karstens, who has been a steadying influence on the rotation, has just tossed a couple of starts. And now Pedro is on the list; who knows how long his "day-to-day" hand injury will linger?

So the new guys on the roster have been thrown into the fire, with a mixed bag of results.

Wandy Rodriguez, their centerpiece pickup, is 3-4 with a 3.57 ERA since arriving, and that's well within expectations. His drawback is that he doesn't really feature swing and miss stuff, and too many balls in play usually lead to bad things. Like most curve ball guys, when he can establish fastball command, things tend to fall into place, including Ks.

Gaby Sanchez took Casey McGehee's place off the bench and as a platoon first baseman. After a rough start with Pittsburgh, he's begun turning on the ball again, hitting .269 with 3 HR in 78 ABs with a 119 OPS+ as a Pirate. That's pretty similar to his Fish heyday lines.

Kyle McPherson has been strong on the bump; in six outings covering 10-2/3 frames, he's put up a 1.69 ERA, 0.938 WHIP and punched out ten batters. He's making a nice opening statement to be considered for next year's rotation.

Travis Snider, expected to add a little power jolt, has hit .261, but with only one homer. In his defense, he's been down twice with hammy tightness, and Clint Hurdle won't let him sit still for a couple of games to rest it, but keeps trotting him out as a pinch hitter. He's also been miscast as a two-hole hitter out of necessity, and has responded well enough with a career high .351 OBP at the cost of some thump.

Jose Tabata remains a question mark after serving time at Indy. JT has shown much better plate discipline since returning from his demotion, with a line of .276/.373 and a 13% walk rate with even righty-lefty splits, qualifying him as an everyday, top-of-the-order player. But like Snider, he has a history with sore hammys, and that affects his playing time - and play. His once plus speed is also fast approaching barely above average as he's bulked up, so next season will present the challenge of reestablishing his brand. We'd spend the winter stretching those legs if we were him.

Alex Presley has put up a .273/.351 slash since his call up, but still K's at a 29% rate and has a reverse L/R split, making him a poser to platoon. He's slotted himself into a bench outfielder role if he hits, with good range and an average arm in the pasture.

Brock Holt has lived up to his calling card as a stick first, glove second guy. Plugged into leadoff, he's hit .364, and while one walk in 47 PAs certainly isn't ideal, it's to be expected as he earned free passes at a so-so 9% rate in the minors. Like the man he replaced, Neil Walker, he's unafraid to hit with two strikes, and has a bit high K rate of 19% as a result. But his fielding % is just .941 and he's been part of 2 DPs in nine starts at second, both well below The Kid's standards. He could be a piece of the 2013 bench; bats always play.

Jeff Locke has rung up an 0-1 record with a 4.11 ERA working 15-1/3 innings. He's been a pleasant surprise with his Ks, picking up 13 while only walking one. But he throws a lot of pitches, preventing him from getting very deep in games, and the three long balls he's surrendered are a red flag. When he's working on the edges, he's a tough guy to hit, but when he falls behind or leaves balls in the middle of the zone, it can get ugly. So far, he hasn't shown much to separate him from the Maholm-Duke-Gorzelanny mold.

Starling Marte, after all the hype, is hitting just .231 and living up to his rep as a free swinger after a somewhat disciplined start. But he needs to get a season under his belt; he's just in the beginning stages of the adjust, readjust phase of his career. An oblique injury hasn't helped the process, and he's a kid that probably should have been called up sooner, back in the Drew Sutton days, to start the maturation process.

The court is out on Chris Leroux. He threw well in 2011 with a 2.88 ERA and 24 whiffs in 25 innings, and was a monster at Indy this season. But he's only tossed five frames in the show so far this year, and his ERA is a bloated 5.40 after a rough opening outing in Milwaukee. But he's a guy that can work out of the pen and as a spot starter, so he has a shot at breaking with next year's club, especially if the injury-prone Jeff Karstens is allowed to walk.

Chad Qualls (6.48 ERA) and Hisanori Takahashi (14.54 ERA) were late veteran additions to the bullpen, and neither has shown any particular reason to be part of next year's mix or even to be considered proper replacements for Jose Cruz this season.

The other minor league call-ups serve at the whim of Clint Hurdle, who has shown little inclination to use them. Then again, none of them have really presented much of a compelling playing-time case to him. When Walker and Snider return, they'll only be pushed further back on the bench. That's understandable; Pittsburgh has an active September roster of 36 players.

That's the double-edged sword of playoff contention and the 19-losing-years gorilla; the Pirates are involved in a September that for once isn't an audition, but crunch time. So the young guns are going to have to cool their heels until 2013 rolls around.