Read All About It

Hey, while we have time between games, the real writers have been busy pounding out some interesting tales today.

-- Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette covers the Pirates attack, one of the worst in the history of the franchise with lots of stats (and none good).

-- Jen Langosch of MLB.com posts in her blog about all the waiver wire deals the Pirates have made, and their success (or lack thereof).

-- Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review has the tale of the Bucco staff and their work - and frustrations - with Ronny Cedeno.

-- Sports Illustrated and L. Jon Werthheim have a "state of the Buccos" article called "Not A Pretty Picture."

-- Patrick on the NPB Tracker, which covers Japanese baseball, posted that the "Chiba Lotte is closing in on an agreement to bring in Hayden Penn, who is currently playing for the Pirates’ 3A affiliate."

Short And Sweet

Hey, no use wasting words here. Roy Oswalt threw a one-hitter (Neil Walker's two-out single in the first! inning) and outdueled Ross Ohlendorf 2-0. Ohlie gave up a pair of solo homers to Lance Berkman, both chipped over the short wall in left, before the Pirates decided maybe they should quit pitching him away. Great scouting report there.

Anyway, off to Milwaukee, where Paul Maholm will take on Doug Davis tomorrow night.

Astros HR Barrage Buries Bucs

The Bucs must like starting in a hole; they do it so often. In the first, the sandwiched, as they so often do, two singles around a DP, coming away empty.

Jeff Keppinger, who had three hits last night, stayed on fire by homering off a fastball in the Astro first off Daniel McCutchen. That's 8 long balls in 23-2/3 innings off D-Mac, but hey, who's keeping count? If the All-Star Home Run Derby is looking for a pitcher...

The Pirates left two more aboard in the third, when a Cedeno double and Tabata walk were stranded.

McCutchen committed a mortal sin of pitching in the third; with two outs and the bases emprty, he gave Lance Berkman too much respect and walked him. Needless to add, Carlos Lee then took a changeup downtown. Pirate pitchers have been an adventure all year trying to get that third out.

MCutchen walked the next batter, and got out of the inning with a drive to the wall that Jose Tabata surrounded.

Gustavo Chacin came in to relieve Brian Moehler in the fourth, and the Bucs liked the change. Garrett Jones doubled, Pedro walked, and Dewey singled in a run. Ryan Church boomed a double, and it was 3-3, runner on second, no outs. Cedeno made the first out, crushing a ball that Michael Bourn outran.

McCutchen struck out, and McCutch hit one on the nose, but into straightaway center, a graveyard for baseballs at MM Park, especially with Bourn patrolling the pasture. But it was 3-3, and the Pirates had a new lease on life.

They charged right back in the fifth, but left the bases jammed when Church struck out swinging. Casey Daigle, the new pitcher, walked a pair; he got Church and Jones both swinging and both with undisciplined at-bats; he may have thrown one strike to each hitter.

After retiring six straight batters, McCutchen fooled around with berkman again and paid. After getting ahead 0-2, he ran the count full, and Big Elvis dinked a changeup just barely into the inviting Coleman boxes in left. After five innings, the Pirates had batted nine times with RISP, converting two. Houston hadn't gotten a runner to second, yet led, 4-3.

That was it for D-mac; his line was five innings, four runs, on four hits, with three walks and three K's.

The beat went on. DJ Carrasco's first pitch to Hunter Pence was bombed into the left-center field seats, and it was 5-3 Houston.

The only team with fewer home runs than Pittsburgh was Houston; with Pence's dinger, the Pirates dropped into the big fly cellar. The Astros have 54 homers; Berkman, Pence, and Lee have 34 of them.

The 'Stros added another run off of Evan Meek in the seventh, again on one hit - but this one didn't leave the yard; it didn't leave the infield as Bourn beat out an infield single.

A stolen base, an intentional walk against Berkman that appeared to upset Meek, and a two-out unintentional walk loaded the sacks. A slider bounced of Dewey's mitt, and the unearned run scored.

6-3 is how it ended; the Astros stranded a couple of guys in the eighth, and the Bucs left three more ducks on the pond over the last pair of innings. Just another day at Minute Maid; they're 0-5 there this season.

Ross Ohlendorf will take on Roy Oswalt tomorrow afternoon.

-- McCutch moved back to leadoff, Jose Tabata was dropped to the two hole, and Neil Walker took the third spot. Maybe without the pressure of being the three man, Andrew McCutchen can get back on track. The mini-shakeup seems fairly sound; we'll see how it works.

-- And how bad is the Pirate offense? They're twenty-one points below the league norm in batting average, have hit 23 fewer homers than average, and scored 98 fewer runs than the normal NL team. That's pretty bad.

-- Daniel McCutchen, like Brad Lincoln, had a cadre of supporters at Minute Maid Park tonight. He's a San Antonio native.

-- Hey, the Bucs got another guy that can't throw strikes, RHP Sean Gallagher. They bought him from the San Diego Padres after he was DFA'ed. He has no record with 23-1/3 IP, giving up 24 hits, getting 21 K's, and walking 19. Gallagher is also out of options, so someone goes when he arrives, probably Justin Thomas.

Pittsburgh will be Gallagher's fourth MLB club. He made his start with the Cubs, who drafted him in 2004, and also pitched parts of two seasons in Oakland before being traded to San Diego. In 60 career outings (23 starts), Gallagher is 8-9 with a 5.57 ERA. He's issued 101 walks and struck out 143 in 173 innings.

Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk described it best: "Gallagher once seemed like a pretty promising prospect, but he's now on his fourth club. Pittsburgh, sadly, is last chance lands for most guys. If he can't do anything for the Pirates, his race is basically run."

-- RHP Bryan Morris of Altoona joined teammate CF Gorkys Hernandez as a member of the All-Star Futures Game. Morris will represent the USA, and Hernandez will play for the World Team. C Tony Sanchez was also selected, but is injured.

-- Jim Callis, of Baseball America, on where he'd rate the Pirates top two draft picks of 2010 within the organization: "(Jameson) Taillon would be their No. 1 prospect. (Stetson) Allie would be in the top five for sure, and you could argue him as No. 2 on upside."

Road Blues Continue

Ah, what a start. With one away, Neil Walker and McCutch drew walks. The next hitter, Garrett Jones, swung at the first pitch he saw (it was a juicy fastball) and flew out, then Pedro K'ed swinging over a slow curve.

Brad Lincoln knocked down Michael Bourn's grounder that left Neil Walker no play, and the disruptive Bourn stole second and came in on a fly and ground out. To add insult to injury, with two down, Carlos Lee jumped a 94 MPH heater and dumped it over the centerfield fence. 2-0, Astros.

Same man, same problem in the third. With one away, Bourn singled, and Lincoln fed Jeff Keppinger a fastball diet. He caught one on the inside half, belt high, and drove it into left for a double that brought home Bourn.

He gave Lance Berkman a 1-2 heater, belt high and outside half this time, and he took it the opposite way, down the line and barely over the short left field fence. It was getting ugly.

And the frustrations mount. The Pirates brought a run in and had the bases loaded with one away in the fourth. Bobby Crosby continued the Pirate struggles with runners on third and less than two outs when he popped out, and JR let Bad Brad - who has a decent stick for a pitcher - bat. He struck out swinging on a curve in the dirt.

He would last another inning; his final line was five frames worked, five runs surrendered on seven hits, two walks, and no K's. Lincoln's curve and change couldn't catch the plate, and his heat was upstairs. It's hard to blow fastballs past everyone at this level.

Houston added a run off Javier Lopez, and the Bucs got one back when Walker doubled and scored on a Jones single. 6-2 was how it would end.

The Pirate road woes are Herculean; they're 11-33 away from PNC Park, where they're a much more respectable 19-20. Maybe they should take the Parrot and Pierogies along next time they board a plane.

Daniel McCutchen takes on Brian Moehler in game #2.

-- Tonight's game was a homecoming for Brad Lincoln, who grew up near the Houston area in Clute. He lives 15 minutes out of town in the suburb of Pearland, and had 150-200 family and friends in attendance for his first MLB start in Houston, nicely located behind the Pirate dugout. Lincoln was drafted out of the University of Houston and pitched in Minute Maid Park as a Cougar.

-- Steve Pearce avoided the knife, for the time being. The beat guys report that he's going to get a shot for his tendinitis tomorrow, get shut down for a week or so, and begin rehab again. He's out of action until at least August.

-- In a bit of a scheduling oddity, the Pirates play their next 13 games against the Astros and Brewers. They visit them before the All-Star break and host them afterward.

-- Not sure what to make of this, but Jeff Clement caught a game last night for Indy. Some intriguing implications, though.

-- Speaking of Indy, here's what some old Buccos are doing there: Aki Iwamura (.308/0/2, 26 AB), Jeff Clement (.266/4/17, 94 AB), Brendan Moss (.239/10/43, 280 AB) and Charlie Morton (1-3, 4.50 ERA, 6 starts - 32 IP).

-- Remember Brent Lillilbridge, the Pirate SS prospect that was part of the 2007 Adam LaRoche deal? He's bumped Gordon Beckham out of the White Sox second base spot for the time being. We don't expect it to last too long; Lillibridge's glove has always been sound but his bat (.177/.258/.251) has kept him a fringe MLB utility player.

The Signees, Please...

Hey, we haven't been ignoring the Bucco's draft; if out scribbles are right, they've signed 17 players. But only one is from the top ten picks, and he's a reliever, so there's not been a great burst of activity on that front yet.

There are a couple of college guys that have some potential, and we'll see how quickly they advance through the system, but they've only inked a couple of high school kids so far, both pitchers and both projects. Here's the list of signees as we have it:

-- 5th rounder RHP Tyler Waldron ($173,500 bonus), 21, was Oregon State's closer. He's assigned to State College.

-- 12th rounder RHP Vincent Payne, 19, from Cyprus College, reliever with terrible stats; Pirates must see something coachable in him. He's been assigned to the GCL.

-- 14th-rounder RHP Bryce Weidman, 19, pitched for Southwestern Oregon CC and showed good K/W ratio, 90 MPH heater, workable curve. He's pitching in the GCL.

-- 16th-rounder 1B Matt Curry, 21, TCU with a good stick and some power. He's been sent to State College.

-- 20th rounder OF Justin Bencsko, 22, from Villanova, good senior year, has some speed. He's been assigned to State College.

-- 22nd rounder 2B Adalberto Santos, 22, out of Oregon State, good average, little pop, lotta speed. He's at State College.

-- 24th rounder 1B Justin Howard, 22, hit .456 for New Mexico but not much power for 1B. He injured his knee during the playoffs, and hasn't been cleared to play yet. Howard probably would have gone higher in the draft if not for the injury, so he's a good pick at this slot.

-- 25th rounder RHP Casey Sadler, 19, from Western Oklahoma State has four-pitch mix, fast ball from high eighties to lower nineties. He's pitching at State College.

-- 30th rounder C Matt Skirving, 20, had great 2009, so-so 2010 with the stick for Eastern Michigan. He's working at State College.

-- 31st rounder RHP Jason Townsend, 21, worked out of Alabama's bullpen; throws 94 MPH with control issues. He's now at State College.

-- 32nd rounder IF Chase Lyles, 23, hit .350+ last two season for Northwestern State, lotsa speed, not much power. He's at State College.

-- 33rd rounder LHP Justin Ennis, 22, out of LSU - Sheveport, was ace of their staff, good control, with a strikeout per inning. He's at State College.

-- 34th rounder SS Kelson Brown, 22, hit .443 at Linfield College, speedy prototype leadoff/two hole guy. He's playing at State College.

-- 36th rounder RHP James Archibald, 20, worked out of the pen for McLennan CC, has 87 MPH heater so must have some off speed stuff. He's playing in the GCL.

-- 39th rounder RHP Kevin Decker, 22, was 8-0 at College of Charleston, has 94 MPH heat but not a huge strikeout pitcher. He's now at State College.

-- 41st-rounder RHP Bryton Trepagnier, 18, pitched at East St. John HS (Louisiana), big kid at 6'5", throws 91 MPH. He was just signed, and will likely end up on the GCL roster.

-- 49th-round pick RHP Logan Pevny, 18, threw for West Milford HS (NJ), fastball upper eighties. He was recently inked and will probably go to the GCL.

-- Undrafted SS Kevin Mort, 22, who started at Ol' Miss, was signed. Good glove, .285 hitter over past two seasons. He was sent to the GCL, not a great sign for someone his age, but it did fill a glaring organizational need.

Tim Williams at Bucco Fans has the best Pirate draft tracker on the web, listing all the draftees' bios, scouting reports, and signing status.

Halfway Home and Whatta We Got?

Hey, it's the halfway mark of the season as we head to the All-Star break. And what's in store for these star-crossed Buccos?

Well, we think you'll see a big improvement in the attack. No, not 1927 Yankee stuff, but better than 2 or 3 runs a game, just because JR finally has a fairly set lineup to work with.

Tabata, Walker, McCutch, Jones, Pedro, Doumit (we were tempted to drop Pedro to sixth to break up the lefty tandem, but the way Dewey hits RHP...well), Milledge/Church (and why the love for Church is beyond us, unless the chance for a homer or a bit of pre-deadline showcasing is the reasoning) and Cedeno/Crosby should only improve.

Perfect it's not. First, we'll see the pitching adjustments - hitting readjustments common to all young lineups, and the valleys that game produces. PNC Field or not, the team needs a RH bopper for balance. And shortstop is a black hole with no help in sight; we'd love to see Nutting chase the moths out of his purse and get a free agent to hold the fort there.

Ultimately, we'd prefer a Pearce/Clements platoon at first and Jones becoming the everyday RF'er, because McCutch and Tabata are fixtures, and both are 10-15 HR guys. You need at least one muscleman in the OF, and Milledge, for as much as his game has picked up, isn't that guy.

And when and if they find that SS, if he could bat in the two hole and free up Walker for the six spot, where he could drive in some runs, that would be ideal.

While we're at it, send Jaramillo down and let him hit every day. Catching the fragile Dewey as often as they have shows very little confidence in JJ's bat, which played well when he got regular time, but not so well as a once-a-week sub. Eric Kratz should be able to fill the need to give Doumit an occasional blow.

The pitching? Well, the pen looks to be fine. Even if they move Dotel and/or Lopez, they have some arms left to play with. If Dotel goes, Hanrahan, Meek, and Donnelly get bumped up an inning, and Steve Jackson at Indy fills the hole; he can replace Carrasco, too. If Lopez gets a phone call, Wil Ledzema is throwing All-Star caliber ball in AAA, and he and Thomas can keep a seat warm for Danny Moskos.

The starters are an entirely different story. When Hart and Morton fizzled, they lost what the suits thought was going to be the 1-2 punch for the next five years. So much for player evaluation, hey?

Ohlendorf should heat up over the second half of the season, and Lincoln will be feeling his way around the league; better now than later. Maholm has been inconsistent, Duke is just bad so far, and Karstens fills the role of a five man without much more upside.

And again, everyone near MLB ready has been accounted for; there's no cavalry to come to the rescue. Hart and Veal went under the knife, D-McCutch has been up and down in the show, and the top guy at Indy now may be Hayden Penn, who's throwing some strikes recently. Jose Ascanio, who we liked as a potential starter, has been on the DL his whole brief Pirate career, or so it seems.

The young wave is at Altoona, where Bryan Morris is pitching decently, Tim Alderson terribly, and lefty Justin Wilson is moving up on the charts with a strong showing in AA. Still, between Indy and the Curve, it doesn't look like there's any help that will show up until at best a year from now, and more likely 2012, unless Morton finds his mojo. He best find it; he's out of options after this season.

So for the short-term we see a steady lineup with some speed at the top and a decent middle of the order presence, though still with a couple of holes, that should be capable of producing some runs. It'll be interesting to see if those holes get filled during the off season. The time for stockpiling talent is over, and the time to address the major league team is at hand.

The pitcher's challenge will be to pump out quality starts - and 3 runs in 6 innings isn't that high a bar - and get the late innings covered by the pen. If they can do that, there's some hope that the second half won't be a repeat of the first.

Seventh Inning Fireworks

Hey, the Bucs started off with a couple of well-placed hits and a couple of more small-ball basics, and jumped off to a quick 2-0 lead.

Jose Tabata dropped a humped-back liner just inside the right field line, a step away from the outfielder, to double. Neil Walker legged out a ball up the middle snagged by Jimmy Rollins, but his 360 spin-a-rama throw missed getting The Pittsburgh Kid by a toe, putting runners on the corners with no one away.

Andrew McCutchen popped out - here we go again - but a soft roller to the right side by Garrett Jones scored Tabata and moved Walker to second. He came in when Pedro roped a 3-2 pitch into right, and Walker's hard slide just beat a strong throw home.

The Phils proved that they could play some small ball, too, when Ben Francisco led off with a double and came in on a pair of ground outs.

Jeff Karstens, who had been working behind in the count over the first two innings, had the roof cave in on him during the third. For the third time, the leadoff hitter reached; this time pitcher Joe Blanton, who dropped a soft pop into right.

After a fly out, Shane Victorino lined a double into right, and Raul Ibanez lasered a following single. Ryan Howard bombed a sac fly. It looked like he would escape giving up a pair, but Francisco's bouncer up the line didn't stick in Pedro's mitt; it went for an infield single.

Greg Dobbs crushed one high off the Clemente Wall, and it was 4-2 when the smoke cleared.

The eight hitter led off the fourth with a single, but a 1-6-3 DP on a weak bunt foiled the Phils in that frame. Karstens settled down after that, and cruised through a 1-2-3 fifth and sixth, sweating out a River Walk shot by Dobbs that was inches foul.

The Pirates, in the meantime, hadn't had a hit since the opening frame.

Karstens' luck ran out in the seventh, when Dane Sardinha, batting ahead of the pitcher, cranked a 3-1 fastball into the first row in left field. Karstens did a good job keeping the Pirates hanging around; his command was off all day; he was behind in the count and high in the strike zone.

He left with a line of six innings, five runs, nine hits, and two K's.

The Pirates found their mojo in the seventh, when Pedro led off with his second homer. Ryan Doumit rolled a single into right, and Ryan Church doubled into right; second and third, no outs.

Ronny Cedeno froze on a 3-2 pitch and was called out; he disagreed, but the pitch looked good, at least good enough to spoil. That brought on Jose Contreras.

No problem with the out or pitching change; Delwyn Young picked up Cedeno with a two strike dink double to left, chipping a pitch low and away to the opposite field, giving the Bucs a 6-5 lead.

Tabata smacked a ball through the hole and off Rollins' glove to plate Young, and stole second. Walker drew a base on balls, and a McCutch dribbler advanced them. The Phils brought on young LOOGY Mike Zagurski, and Jones greeted him by banging the first pitch into center, scoring both runners, and putting Pittsburgh ahead 8-5.

Joel Hanrahan threw a clean eighth, and Octavio Dotel gave the 28,698 fans - the Pittsburgh ones, anyway - a grand flourish by striking out the last hitter. For Dotel, it was his nineteenth save, and the win went to All-Star Meek, his fourth.

Pretty good day for Evan, hey? At noon, you're an All-Star, and at 4PM, you have a win.

The Bucs are off tomorrow, and then play three at Houston and three more at Milwaukee before the All-Star break.

-- Evan Meek was selected by Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to represent the Bucs in the All-Star game, and he was a great choice with Andrew McCutchen slumping of late. McCutch surprisingly didn't even make the vote-off for the final spot.

Meek is one of 13 pitchers Manuel selected for his NL team, and five are relievers. He becomes the third guy on the current roster to wear an All-Star cap; Zach Duke and Brendan Donnelly are the other two.

-- The last ten Pirate homers have been solo shots; the last one with a runner aboard was on June 8th, by Delwyn Young against Stephen Strasburg. The opponents have the same problem; 7 of the last 8 dingers given up by Pirate pitching have been with the bases empty.

-- BTW, did you ever wonder why Perry Hill left? Ponder the workload of Carlos Garcia - showing Neil Walker how to play second, teaching Andy LaRoche the intricacies of middle infield, working with Pedro, who plays like Richie Hebner with an arm, trying to keep Ronny Cedeno's head in the game, making time for Bobby Crosby and all his infield spots, the continuing education of Delwyn Young, and Jeff Clement getting his crash course before being sent down...just sayin'.

Happy Fourth!

Pirates Pummeled

Ya know, it's the little things that matter. Take the five-run third that the Phils laid on Paul Maholm.

It started with a walk, a ball that deflected off Pedro's glove, and an error by Bobby Crosby. It could have been a possible 1-2-3 inning, who knows? What we do know is that given a gift-wrapped bases juiced, nobody away situation, the Phils took full advantage.

Four of the next five hitters had knocks (including a catchable fly and a second botched DP chance), and it was 7-1 before the fans downed their first cold one. Very few teams can survive a six or seven out inning, particularly a team as fragile as Pittsburgh.

For some inexplicable reason, JR let Maholm stay in the game; he even let him lead off the third. He flew out, and the next two guys singled. He lasted two batters into the fourth before he was yanked.

So tonight's line was three innings, eight runs (seven earned), ten hits, two walks, and a strikeout as the good Paul, bad Paul ride continues.

Justin Thomas came in, and the bleeding continued. He got the side out in the fourth with no new damage, and in the fifth was an out away from doing the same, but he fell behind Jimmy Rollins 2-0 and fed him an 89 MPH heater belt high and down the middle; it ended up in the left field stands for a two run dinger.

The Phils went yard again in the sixth, and again with two outs when Ben Francisco hit his first of the year. He worked the count to 2-2, fouled off a pair of off-speed pitches, and took a knee-high heater clocked at 92 and down Broadway over the left field fence.

Brendan Donnelly took over in the seventh, and it was more of the same. He got the first two outs, and then gave up back-to-back two strike doubles as the Phils padded their lead to 12-2. BD pitched a clean eighth, and Javier Lopez finished up the ninth.

For the Bucs, it was more futility at the dish. Kyle Kendrick was in line to get bumped out of the rotation with the impending return of JA Happ. But he went the distance, giving up four runs on ten hits, and four of those knocks were in the eighth and ninth frames, when his tank was about empty.

Pedro hit his first homer (he went 2-for-4, and didn't K), Ryan Church (3-for-3 with a walk) added another, while Delwyn Young and Ronny Cedeno had two-out RBI knocks. But three DPs kept the Bucs from putting together any sort of big inning. Of course, in a 12-4 loss, the finger can hardly be pointed at the attack.

It was an old fashioned stomping; every Phillie starter had at least a hit and either scored and/or drove in a run, including the pitcher. Not exactly the kind of show you want to put on in front of 38,052 fans. Oh well, at least the Zambelli family won't let them down.

Joe Blanton and Jeff Karstens mix it up tomorrow afternoon to close the series. The Bucs are off on Monday, and then will be on the road until the All-Star break.

-- Neil Walker returned to the lineup tonight and reclaimed the two hole. Pedro continues to get juggled around, and hit fifth.

-- Steve Pearce underwent an MRI exam yesterday and it showed that he has patella tendinitis of the left knee. He'll come to Pittsburgh to get further poking and probing to determine his rehab schedule.

Happy Fourth of July! Enjoy the day and stay safe.

Phils Phlounder at PNC

Holy Green Weenie! The pitching, which was so horrendous a week or so ago, suddenly looks like the Dodgers of the mid-sixties.

It may have taken until July, but Ross Ohlendorf finally earned his first W, and in grand style. He threw seven innings of shut-out ball as the Bucs blanked the Phils 2-0 tonight.

Ohlie gave up five hits, beaned a batter, and gave up one intentional walk while whiffing eight. Joel Hanrahan and Octavio Dotel iced the game with two perfect frames, using just 20 pitches to dispatch Philly.

Now there's no question Pittsburgh caught the Brotherly Love nine at a good time, with Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, and Placido Polanco on the DL. Still, surrendering one earned run in eighteen innings is pretty dang good against any MLB order.

The Phillies threatened against Ohlie just once, in the sixth. Raul Ibanez doubled with one out and went to third on a wild pitch. With two away, Ryan Howard was intentionally walked. The 30,339 in the stands held their breath when Ben Francisco hit a quail into right, but Lastings Milledge made another Thrilledge diving catch.

The Pirates did their little bit of damage against Father Time, 47 year-old Jamie Moyer, in the fourth. Andrew McCutchen led off with a single, but Garrett Jones and Milledge went down on swinging strikeouts.

Ryan Doumit dribbled a tweaker between the hill and the foul line for a single, and Bobby Crosby walked. Andy LaRoche dinked a swinging bunt into the same area as Dewey's seeing-eye hit.

Moyer rushed the play and overthrew first, bringing home Doumit from second after McCutchen scored from third. It was ruled a single and an error, and that was all she wrote for tonight.

And it's a good thing the Bucs took advantage of the breaks; Moyer went six innings, giving up five hits, walking two, and striking out eight. His bullpen was perfect afterward, too.

So it's three in a row for the Buccos. Imagine if they decide to hit the ball the second half of the season.

Kyle Kendrick and Paul Maholm will work tomorrow night.

-- Tonight was the third consecutive game a Pirate starting pitcher recorded his first win of the season, with Ohlie winning tonight, Daniel McCutchen on Thursday and Brad Lincoln on Wednesday. That might happen a lot in April, but not very often in June/July.

-- Let the rumors fly. Ed Price of MLB Fanhouse reports that "The Marlins -- who have used 18 relievers, most in the majors -- have inquired about Pirates closer Octavio Dotel, according to a major league source."

-- Zach Duke is slated for a pair of rehab starts at Altoona, starting Monday. If he gets through that OK, he'll be set to rejoin the rotation after the All-Star break.

-- Charlie Morton came off the DL and was optioned to Indy, the logical move for the troubled righty at this point of his career.

-- Steve Pearce has sat the past couple of games with a sore left knee; if it doesn't clear up soon, he'll have a MRI. Pearce has got a bad case of the Wally Pipp syndrome right about now.

-- Good news on the injury front. OF Starling Marte, who just had hamate surgery six weeks ago, will begin a one-week rehab assignment with the GCL Pirates tomorrow. If all goes well, he’ll advance to Class A Bradenton next. He won't even have to pack a bag, either.

-- The Phillies released ol' Bucco Josh Fogg, who they had signed just before the season started and assigned to AAA Reading.

Hose 'Em Off!

Hey, PNC was rockin' tonight. There were 25,000+ fired up fans, with a goodly contingent in from Philly, and the crowd was buzzin' from the start.

The first inning between Cole Hamels and Daniel McCutchen started off routinely enough. In the second, though, they began showing their wares. McCutchen struck out the side swinging, all on two-strike changeups.

Hamels did the same - except he allowed a Lastings Milledge single, Dewey walk, and Bobby Crosby single between the first and second whiffs; the K's left runners at first and third. He was down 1-0, with 5 K's in two frames.

Didn't last long; the veteran infielder Wilson Valdez, who's playing because Chase Utley is out, led off the third with a bomb over the 410' mark, his fourth of the year. Amazingly for McCutchen, it was the seventh homer he's given up in just 21 innings.

Jose Tabata led off with a nine-pitch walk, and Pedro doubled him home on a big fly to the Notch. McCutch reached on an error, and the Bucs had runners on the corners and no one out.

But Garrett Jones and Milledge hit tappers to the catcher and pitcher respectively, and Ryan Doumit popped up. Another chance to put some distance between them Pirates and the Phils was stranded; they had first-and-third and second-and-third with one out in back-to-back innings, and failed to plate a run.

The Bucs made amends in the fourth. LaRoche singled with one away, was bunted to second, and Tabata knocked him home. Tabata was caught trying to steal to end the frame, with the added injury to insult of having his hand stomped on by the second baseman.

But he did his job bringing home the run, and was being aggressive on the bases with two outs, all good stuff, especially from a pup.

The Pirates continued inability to make plays cost them the next frame. A high hopper up the first base line by Shane Victorino was fielded by McCutchen, who threw to the wrong side of the base, allowing Victorino to get aboard.

He promptly swiped second, and Greg Dobbs hit a slicing ball up the middle that LaRoche ran down after a hop, and then made a strong, one bounce throw to first. But Jones batted the ball aside like he was a goalie, and the run scored to make it 3-2.

McC got the JR hook in the next frame, when a one-out error by Pedro, who backpedaled on a ball he should have stepped up on, brought up the lefty Raul Ibanez. MCutchen went 5-1/3 innings, gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits with four K's, a much better showing tonight.

Javier Lopez did his LOOGY thing, getting a slowly bounced forceout. The matching-up continued, as JR brought on DJ Carrasco to face righty Dane Sardinha, the catcher. DJ ignored the 38 year-old runner Ibanez, who stole second (his second steal of the year), but got the batter on a routine fly to center.

Evan Meek kept the score the same in two innings of work. He even got his first MLB at bat, laying down a sac bunt in the seventh.

Octavio Dotel took the mound in the ninth, and gave up a ground ball single to Sardinha to start the frame. A bunt and bounce out got him to third, but Dotel caught the dangerous Victorino looking. Hey, that's three out of four for the Buccos; amazing what a little pitching will do.

But they could make it easier on themselves by catching a few balls and bringing those guys on third home; they were 2-for-10 with RISP. But a win is a win, and it's nice to get a couple.

Jamie Moyer faces off against Ross Ohlendorf tomorrow night.

-- JR decided to bat Pedro second, on the theory he'll see better pitches between Jose Tabata and Andrew McCutchen. Can't say that he goes by the book.

-- Pedro has had 55 plate appearances; 27 of them have been against lefties. We know he'll be an everyday guy for the Bucs, but they could protect him just a little.

It also shows the need for Pittsburgh to find someone with some right-handed muscle unless they want to see lefties as a steady diet. You can only build a lineup around the home field so much; every order needs some balance.

-- If there are no relapses, Neil Walker is expected back this weekend. Bobby Crosby came back today and started at short.

-- Chris Jakubauskas is back at Indy now, and just injured his groin tonight in his first rehab start. Some years you just can't win...

-- Dana Eveland cleared waivers, and will head to Indy.