Bucs Grind It Out Behind Liriano 5-2

Francisco Liriano got into a little first inning jam. With an out, he left a two strike off speed pitch at the belt, and DJ LeMahieu spanked it into left. Troy Tulowitzki walked, and a short wild pitch - it bounced and was blocked by Tony Sanchez, but the spin off his chest protector carried the ball far enough away for the runners to advance - put Rox on second and third. The Cisco Kid had the answer, K'ing Michael Cuddyer and retiring Wil Rosario on a chop to third. Starling Marte opened with a shot to left that didn't carry, hauled in on the front of the track by the 383' marker. Jordy Mercer dropped a liner into left and Cutch walked. But Jorge De La Rosa, like Liriano, came back strong and got a pair of K, whiffing Gaby on a check swing and Tony Sanchez looking at some borderline high strike calls; he's gotta learn to spoil some pitches.

The Rox went down quietly in the second. JT led off with an infield single to third. Neil Walker tried to bunt for a hit, but pushed it too far, and 3B Nolan Arenado threw him out easily. It moved Tabata up a notch, but De La Rosa retired Josh Harrison and Liriano routinely to keep it scoreless.

After an out in the third, Francisco walked Fowler and LeMahieu, both on five pitches, with Tulo coming up. Tulowitzki chopped out to third, moving up the runners. Working carefully to Cuddyer with an open base, Liriano fell behind 3-0, caught a couple of generous calls, and escaped with a liner to center, hit right at Cutch. Marte lined a single to left and stole second; he went to third on a Mercer hopper to short. Cutch doubled him in, banging a ball high off the Clemente Wall, and then stole third. Arenado saved a run when with the infield in, he made a backhand, shorthop stop of a bullet by Gaby and easily tossed out Cutch, who was in no man's land after the grab. So in spite of both teams having a boatload of runners, it's just 1-0 after three.

The Rox got a one out soft liner to center, just over Walker's mitt, by Arenado in the fourth, but he was quickly erased on a 4-3 DP. JT did something he hasn't done since May; he homered to right center, just over the Trib sign 375' away. Walker was plunked in the foot on an 0-2 pitch, but no crooked number was in store. Harrison bounced into a 6-4-3 DP and Liriano flew out.

Frankie tossed a 1-2-3 fifth. Marte walked, drew three throws, then trotted into second as De La Rosa threw a pitchout away. Mercer lined a single to right to put Bucs on the corners (Marte had to wait to make sure it dropped) and that was it for De La Rosa as Adam Ottavino took the ball. He got Cutch swinging without throwing him a strike. But the baseball gods gave the Bucs a smile when Gaby's bouncer up the middle kicked away from Tulo, who may have been looking for the DP before he had the ball, and into center to score a run and keep Bucs on the corners. But again Pittsburgh settled for one as Tony Sanchez rolled into a tailor made 6-4-3 DP.

Tulo drew a one out walk in the sixth, but a pair of grounders closed out the frame. JT led off with a triple to left center, just clearing Fowler's leap and kissing off the bullpen fence. Walker K'ed, and Hurdle dug into his playbook; Harrison squeezed Tabata home, and the Bucs were up 4-0.

Arenado walked to open the seventh, just what Liriano didn't want. But a three pitch K and an 0-2 tapper back to the hill and 1-6-3 DP cleaned the frame up nicely. The Bucs conjured up some two-out lightning. Cutch singled, stole second, and came around on Gaby's soft liner to left. Sanchez the younger followed with a knock, and Walt Weiss called on Wilton Lopez, who K'ed JT to limit the damage.

Liriano was done, going seven shutout frames, giving up two hits and five walks with six whiffs, tossing 102 pitches. Tony Watson proved in the eighth that soft contact is no guarantee of success. Mercer bobbled a Corey Dickerson bouncer over the hill that was generously ruled a hit. A jam job to Fowler dropped into right, barely in the grass. A chopper to third moved the runners up, and Tulo dropped a bloop into center a step in front of Cutch to make it 5-1. That run of bad luck brought on Bryon Morris, and the darkside juju bit him, too, as Cuddyer's dribbler up the third base line that looked like it might have first nicked his foot in the batter's box turned into an RBI infield knock. Morris battled Rosario, and won when the catcher rolled a 3-2 fastball to short to start a 6-4-3 DP to end the inning. And give Tony Sanchez props; he blocked three balls in the dirt during the at bat. Lopez caught some sunny side karma in the Buc half, with Tulo stealing a hit from Walker and Harrison flying out to the scoreboard in right.

It's Mark the Shark's inning, and two grounders and a soft liner that Harrison climbed the ladder to glove gave him his sixth save and Francisco's twelfth win.

Some nice fielding this game; the left side of the Rox infield, Arenado and Tulowitzki, made several nice plays, and the Bucs turned three DP. The key was Pittsburgh grinding and squeezing to score single runs for five straight frames; though they couldn't break it open to make it easy, they provided all the cushion Liriano needed. And it's been a long time since the Bucs had an ace like him to take the hill every fifth day.

AJ Burnett takes on Juan Nicasio tomorrow afternoon in the rubber match.

• Starling Marte has hit safely in seven straight games and in nine of his last 10 contests. 
• Neil Walker was hit for the 13th time this season. His career total coming into this campaign was nine HPBs in four years, with a season high of four in 2011.
• Tonight's attendance was 38,424, the 11th sellout of the season.
• The Bucco bullpen leads all NL teams with 40 saves. The Pirates posted a total of 45 saves in 2012.
• Ronny Cedeno signed a minor league deal with the Padres after the Astros had DFA'ed him.

Liriano v De La Rosa

Francisco Liriano (11-4, 2.16) takes on Jorge de La Rosa (10-5, 3.21) in a matchup of upper tier lefties. Both are having quietly strong seasons, and were in the conversation for the All-Star game, so tonight's game should be mound duel. The Cisco Kid has started 15 games; he's given up two or fewer runs in 12 of them. De La Rosa had a streak of eight starts with three runs or less snapped against the Braves last time out and has had chronic thumb problems, so we'll see if he can get back on the bike tonight.

The game starts at 7:05 and will be aired on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Pirate lineup: Starling Marte LF, Jordy Mercer SS, Andrew McCutchen CF, Gaby Sanchez 1B, Tony Sanchez C, Jose Tabata RF, Neil walker 2B, Josh Harrison 3B and Francisco Liriano P.

Russ Martin was hobbling in the dugout, so Tony the Tiger got the call. Pedro's off for Harrison, Mercer tales over at SS and JT gets to play right; whole lotta shakin' against a southpaw.

Rockies lineup: Dexter Fowler CF, DJ LeMahieu 2B, Troy Tulowitzki SS, Michael Cuddyer 1B, Wilin
Rosario C, Nolan Arenado 3B, Charlie Culberson LF, Charlie Blackmon RF and Jorge De La Rosa P.

Maybe the Bucs will figure a way to not let Tulo beat them tonight.

• Half the Buc bullpen is down tonight because of yesterday's pitch counts- Justin Wilson, Jared Hughes and Jeanmar Gomez.
• The Bucs are fishing for a third catcher, some one who can go to Indy as an insurance policy with The Fort done and Russ Martin suffering from a cranky knee. The current Tribe catchers are Lucas May and Ali Solis, both hitting under the Mendoza line. Carlos Paulino at Altoona is probably the guy they'd call right now if the Bucs needed another catcher, and he's another good glove/bad bat backstop. The Curve he alternates with is Charlie Cutler, a good stick, so-so mitt guy.
• Brian Peloza of the Tribune Review has a piece on up-and-coming OF Andrew Lambo.
• The Blue Jays replaced one old Buc with another. They recalled Brad Lincoln and optioned Todd Redmond (he was one of NH's early trades, going to the Braves in 2008 for Tyler Yates) to Buffalo today.

August 3: Good Ol' Days, Danny Murtaugh Hired, Shutout Skein, Drabek's Near No-No & More

Good Ol' Days, Danny Murtaugh Hired, Shutout Skein, Drabek's Near No-No...

• 1895 - Pittsburgh took over first place with a rousing 5-4 win over the Cleveland Spiders at Exposition Park in front of 6,000 fans. The Pirates were down 4-2 in the eighth when Elmer Smith banged a two strike, two run triple off the wall in right to tie the score. The Bucs took it in the ninth on Jake Starzel’s double, a bunt, and Monte Cross’ walk off single. Pink Hawley, making his third start of the week, got the win. Alas, it would be the last day Pittsburgh was in first; the Pirates finished the year in the middle of the pack at 71-61. 
• 1905 - Pittsburgh ended the NY Giants 13 game winning streak with a 10-4 victory at a rockin’ Exposition Park. The Pittsburg Press reported that “...after little rooting in the first five innings,” after the Pirates took the lead in the sixth “The crowd went wild with delight (and) was on its feet for five minutes cheering with might and main and waving hats, canes and hankerchiefs.” In fact, one fan had a fatal heart attack during the action, and a Giant supporter had to be removed by the police after assaulting Pirate owner Barney Dreyfuss in his box; of all things, the attacker was a seminary student decked out in his clerical garb. 3B Dave Brain had three hits and four other Buccos had a pair of knocks apiece. Sam Leever, with help from Pat Flaherty, got the win over Iron Man McGinnity and reliever Sam Wiltse. 
• 1914 - The Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federation League took their second straight 1-0 win from Chicago at Exposition Park. Not much info on the games, but Charlton’s Baseball Chronology reports that the Rebels had to lend the Chi-Feds a catcher, Skipper Roberts, to continue their road trip, as the Windy City starting pair were laid up with appendicitis and a broken finger. 
• 1930 - The Pirates won their seventh game in eight outings when they whipped the Chicago Cubs 12-8 at Wrigley Field. Gus Suhr and Adam Comorosky had three RBI while Dick Bartell score three times. All nine Pirates in the lineup had hits for the second day in a row. Ery Brame went the distance for the win. 
• 1941 - Ken Heintzelman started both ends of a doubleheader against the Giants at Forbes Field, and the Bucs took both games, 5-4 and 10-5. Heintzelman didn’t get the decision in either contest though; he lasted two innings total and was charged with seven runs. The victories went to relievers Dutch Dietz and Bob Klinger. 
• 1952 - The last-place Pirates knocked the Giants 6-1/2 games behind the Dodgers by sweeping a doubleheader at the Polo Grounds‚ 7-0 and 10-8. The two wins matched the hapless Buccos’ longest win streak of the year. Murry Dickson came in for Paul La Palme in the third inning with the bases loaded and an out, getting a DP ball from Bobby Thompson and then cruising 6-2/3 IP with three hits and no runs. Gus Bell was a homer shy of the cycle and drove in a pair of runs. The Pirates jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the closer‚ scoring four times in the sixth, then having the Giants answer with seven scores of their own. The Bucs managed to hang on to the win when the game was called because of darkness. 
• 1957 - The news that Danny Murtaugh replaced Bobby Bragan as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates was leaked to the press ahead of time‚ and Bragan heard it on the radio before GM Joe L. Brown could reach him. It wasn’t much of a surprise; the quirky Bragan had greased his own skids with an outre incident in Milwaukee a couple of days earlier when he strolled onto the field sipping a drink through a straw and offered it to the umps. 
• 1958 - The Cards finally scored against Pittsburgh in a 2-1 loss in the second game of a twin bill at Forbes Field as Red Witt beat Vinegar Bend Mizell. Bob Skinner had both RBI. The Bucs took the opener 2-0 as Bob Friend outdueled Sal Maglie, supported by a Bill Virdon homer and run producing knock from Frank Thomas. St. Louis had nine hits in each game, but found home plate a difficult destination to reach. The day before, Vern Law beat Sam Jones 1-0 on a three hitter, making a lone first inning run stand. In the series opener, Ronnie Kline beat Bob Mabe 2-0, tossing a four hitter in a game that was scoreless until Pittsburgh tallied in the eighth. The Bucs whitewashed the Cards for 33 straight innings in the four game set, and gave up one run on 25 hits in total. 
• 1959 - RHP Jim Gott was born in Hollywood. Obtained from the Giants off waivers in mid-1987, the Bucs used him as a closer, and he saved 13 games with a 1.45 ERA. In 1988, he broke Kent Tekulve’s franchise record with 34 saves. But he only appeared once the following year after an elbow injury, and signed with the Dodgers as a free agent for 1990. Gott came back to Pittsburgh for his final season in 1995. 
• 1960 - 1B Sid Bream, the Simon Legree of Bucco baseball, was born in Carlisle, PA. Sid played first from 1985-90 for the Pirates with a .269 average, having three pretty solid years from 1986-88. He signed with the Braves in 1990, and in 1992...well, we're still trying to forget that. 
• 1961 - The Pirates ran away with a 19-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium for the largest shutout score in an NL night game. The Bucs banged out 24 hits against Al Cicotte, Bob Miller and Lindy McDaniel while Harvey Haddix tossed a four hitter for Pittsburgh. It was the most lopsided shutout in modern NL history at the time, tying a record first set in 1906. Smoky Burgess had six RBI with a pair of homers and Dick Stuart drove in five more, adding a long ball. Bob Skinner and Roberto Clemente scored four times. Clemente had five hits and Bill Mazeroski four. 
• 1987 - On his birthday, the Bucs picked up Jim Gott off waivers from the Giants. In a season plus, he saved 47 games for the Pirates, but an elbow injury in 1989 limited him to one outing, and Pittsburgh let him go as a free agent. 
• 1989 - A pair of unlikely offensive heroes, Rafael Belliard and Benny DiStefano, teamed up to give the Bucs an extra inning 1-0 win at TRS. With two down in the twelfth, Belliard singled through the left side off Andy McGaffigan, stole second and scored on DiStefano’s knock to left center. Bob Walk tossed eight innings of four hit ball, but the victory went to reliever Doug Bair. 
• 1990 - Doug Drabek, who captured the 1990 Cy Young Award, was one out away from a no-hitter in Philadelphia when he gave up a single through the second base hole to Sil Campusano, who was hitting .188 at the time. The game was a bit lopsided; the Bucs outhit the Phils 18-1 and outscored them 11-0 at Veterans Stadium. Andy Van Slyke and Sid Bream each had a homer and double, and combined for seven RBI. 
• 1999 - The Bucs bopped the Atlanta Braves 7-1 at TRS. Brian Giles bombed a pair of homers good for four RBI while Al Martin, Kevin Young and Warren Morris added solo shots. Kris Benson went eight innings of four hit ball for the win. 
• 2010 - The Pirates jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and held on to beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 at PNC Park. Neil Walker went 3-for-4 with four RBI while Jose Tabata had a pair of hits, two runs scored and one driven home. After Paul Maholm and Evan Meek barely kept the Bucs above water, Joel Hanrahan shut the door in the ninth with a pair of punch outs.

Bucs Blow Early Chances In 4-2 Loss

Gerrit Cole got off to a good start; he whiffed the first two Rox and had a 1-2-3 frame. Neil Walker doubled with an out off Jhoulys Chacin, but was stranded when Pedro's liner to center was gloved by Dexter Fowler. Troy Tulowitzki opened the second by taking a hung 3-2 slider to left for his 20th homer and putting the Rockies up 1-0. The Bucs put two guys on, but no one reached second base on a hit batter, DP, single, and pop out.

Colorado went down quietly in the third. The Bucs, with one down, got a single from Starling Marte and a double to The Notch by The Kid to set up Cutch, who ripped a single to right to score one and put Bucs on the corners. But it was Pedro's turn to hit in a DP. At least it's 1-1. With one out in the fourth, the Rox got a single and walk; a wild pitch moved them up a station. But a pair of punchouts kept them there. For the Bucs, same ol' - single, DP (Jones' second) and a K. In the fifth both sides were retired in order. But the Bucs' last hard was a ball that was lined hard off Chacin's wrist by Marte; we'll see if he comes out for the sixth.

Fowler opened the sixth with a walk and stole second as DJ LeMahieu struck out swinging.A single through the right side put Rox on the corners with one away. That was it; Justin Wilson got the call to face Tulo. Cole went 5-1/3, giving up three runs on three hits, two walks, and six K after 102 pitches in a short start, but his first over 100 pitches. No luck for the Bucs; Tulo chopped a curve between first and the mound for an infield knock - Jones and Wilson went for the ball, and Walker couldn't get to first in time, cheating for the DP - and it was 2-1 Colorado. A wild pitch moved the runners up and Todd Helton singled up the middle past the shift to make 4-1. Wilson gave up as many hits facing five batters, three, as Cole did in five+ frames.

Chacin did stay in, and got Walker to fly out to the wall in left. Cutch routinely flied out to center, and Pedro took four pitches and sat down. Wilson got what he needed last frame, three routine ground outs. The Bucs did pretty much the same. Russ Martin lined on to third on a when Nolan Arenado went upstairs and snow-coned the grab. It didn't matter, as Jones rolled out to short, so the catch just denied him a shot at three DPs. Presley was thrown out easily on a bunt attempt, and it's on to the eighth.

Jared Hughes toed the rubber. After two grounders, he lost Helton during a long at-bat, and Wil Rosario punched a knock between Pedro and Barmes. Charlie Blackmon flew out to end the frame quietly. Chacin was cruising, getting three bouncers. That brought out Bryan Morris from the Buc bullpen for the ninth.

He didn't have a pretty inning, but a couple of heads-up plays resulted in a zero. After Arenado and Charlie Culberton led off with back-to-back singles, a grounder to Walker with the infield partially in resulted in a rundown, erasing the man at second. Pedro went home on a chopper, and Martin pulled his throw from the first base side across the plate to make the tag count. Another wild pitch put Rox at second and third again, but Carlos Gonzalez, who came in as a defensive sub the inning before, flew out to left.We have to wonder if Martin's knee is affecting his ability to block those pitches; there were a couple that got by that he usually smothers in his sleep.

Lefty Rex Brothers came on, and the Bucs made a late run. Cutch doubled off the top of the wall in front of the Batter's Eyewith one gone and came home when Pedro followed with a soft liner to the track in right center, well placed for another double. Martin got the crowd to its feet with a drive to straight center, but he was under it too much and Fowler hauled it in short of the track for a loud out. Gaby pinch hit and shot a liner to right; it hung up for Blackmon, and the Pirates went down 4-2.

The Rox won the game on an inning that started with a walk, was kept going by an infield knock that the Bucs didn't particularly communicate well in fielding and a wild pitch. Pittsburgh's chances came early; especially in the third. Six runners reached between the second-fourth frames, but three DPs limited the damage to a run. And Chacin cruised after that; getting a couple of at 'em balls but in the main routinely getting weak outs.

It's been a Jeckyl and Hyde attack. Since the Miami series, they've scored five+ runs four times, but two or less five times. They could probably stand to smooth that production out a bit. Since the break, they've scored 66 times in 14 games, 4.7 runs per contest. If they can score that many consistently instead of in spurts, the pitching will carry them through the dog days.

It doesn't get any easier tomorrow as Jorge De La Rosa and Francisco Liriano hook up.

• Tonight was the 10th sellout of the year at PNC Park with 37,487 fans, the eighth straight game of 30,000+ in the yard.
• RHP Jameson Taillon is moving up; he's being promoted to AAA Indy.

Cole v Chacin to Open Rox Series; Hughes Back

Gerrit Cole (5-4, 3.56) continues the home stand against Colorado's Jhouly Chacin (9-5, 3.54) tonight. The 22-year-old will be making his 10th MLB start tonight. His last outing was a 3-2 loss to Jose Fernandez in Miami, but he looked pretty good, finally breaking out his slider and actually punching people out. To us, his learning curve is right on track. Chacin, 25, is developing into a solid, mid-rotation or better type guy, but hasn't had much luck against the Bucs. He's gone 1-3/ 6.97 in his Pittsburgh outings.

The game starts at 7:05 and will be aired on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Pirate lineup: Starling Marte LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Russ Martin C, Garrett Jones 1B, Alex Presley RF, Clint Barmes SS and Gerrit Cole P.

Rockies lineup: Dexter Fowler CF, DJ LeMahieu 2B, Corey Dickerson LF, Troy Tulowitzki SS, Todd Helton 1B, Wilin Rosario C, Charlie Blackmon RF, Nolan Arenado 3B and Jhoulys Chacin P.

Carlos Gonzalez has missed time lately due to a nagging middle finger sprain.

• The Pirates have recalled RHP Jared Hughes from the 15-day DL and optioned Vic Black back to Indy.
• The Rockies are coming into town on the same note that the Cards did - swept by Atlanta. 
• In his three seasons as the Pirates manager, Clint Hurdle has recorded a 216-216 record.
• Colorado manager Walt Weiss earned his coaching stripes on Clint Hurdle's Rockies staff, starting there in 2002.
• What was the offer for Giancarlo Stanton? According to Josh Baumgard of Page Q Sports (via  Marlins Way), Pittsburgh offered Jeff Locke, Jameson Taillon, Gregory Polanco and Nick Kingham and the Fish thought it was too little.The names haven't been verified anywhere else, so take with the usual dose of salt. Clark Spencer, who covers Miami, tweeted that the Bucs did not make an offer.
•  Reese McGuire was named the GCL Player of the Month for July after he hit .369 with nine doubles, 12 RBI & a .424 OBP.

August 2 - Hans, Bucky, Candy and More...

Bucky, Scoring Streak, Hans, Slugfest, '60 Bucs, Bye-Bye Bravos, Candy Trade, Free-For-All, Walk-Offs...

• 1881 - RHP Frederick W. “Bucky” Veil was born in Tyrone. He only pitched two MLB seasons (1903-04), both for the Bucs, as his career was cut short by malaria bouts. But he does hold the distinction of being the first relief pitcher in a World Series, when he tossed seven innings against Boston in 1903 after replacing an injured Sam Leever in game two, giving up just one run.
• 1894 - The Pirates set a club record by scoring in 14 straight innings during a 7-4 loss to the St. Louis Browns when they plated a run in the first. They started the streak on July 31st, beating Cincinnati 11-10 while scoring in the last five frames, and then tallied in all eight frames on August 1st against the Reds, winning by a 15-5 count. The games were played at Exposition Park.
• 1905 - Temper, temper, Hans: In the course of a 3-1 loss to the New York Giants, Honus Wagner was called out on a bang-bang play at first. Hot at the decision, he fired a baseball past umpire George Bausewine's noggin during warmups the next inning. The Flying Dutchman was ejected, then later suspended for three games and fined $40.
• 1928 - The Pirates scored 12 runs in the first three innings and ran away with an 18-4 laugher over the Phillies at the Baker Bowl. Glenn Wright (five RBI) and George Grantham (who scored four times) cranked out early three-run homers to pace the attack. Three more runs were driven in by both Pie Traynor and Fred Bickell. Burleigh Grimes coasted to the win.
• 1960 - The Pirates defeated the Dodgers 3-0 at Forbes Field behind Vern Law’s five hitter. There was plenty of leather; Roberto Clemente threw behind Norm Larker at first to catch him rounding the base too far after a single, and then Duke Snider robbed Clemente with a one-handed grab in center. A close game was broken up in the seventh when Bill Mazeroski rolled a single up the middle to score Joe Christopher. But the gamebreaker came when Dodger hurler Stan Williams mishandled a bunt, leading eventually to a two-out, two-run double by Dick Groat.
• 1970 - Pittsburgh outslugged the Braves 10-7 at Atlanta Stadium behind the hot sticks of Bob Robertson and John Jeter. Robertson went long twice and drove home six runs; the other four runs were plated by Jeter, who also homered. Dock Ellis got the win, although Dave Guisti made it interesting in the ninth, giving up three runs on back-to-back Bravo home runs.
• 1985 - The last-place Pirates dumped a trio of veteran players, trading pitchers John Candelaria and Al Holland and OF George Hendrick to the Angels for OF Mike Brown and pitchers Pat Clements and Bob Kipper.
• 1993 - The Cubs beat the Pirates‚ 12-10‚ at Wrigley Field in a game marked by seven HRs‚ six ejections‚ three brushbacks and a brawl. Carlos Garcia had a pair of homers for the Bucs‚ and was beaned in his next at-bat in the sixth by Bob Scanlon, instigating the meet-at-the-mound scrum. Lloyd McClendon and Al Martin also went long for Pittsburgh.
• 2002 - The Bucs walked away with a 6-5 win over the Giants at PNC Park. Down a run with two outs in the ninth, Jason Kendall lined a single and Jack Wilson kept the team alive with a bloop. Brian Giles drilled Rob Nenn’s 1-2 pitch into left center to plate them both for the win. Adam Hyzdu and Rob Mackowiak homered for the Bucs while Brian Boehringer got the win. 
• 2007 - It took 11 innings, but Pittsburgh whipped the Cards 6-5 at PNC Park. With two down, Jose Castillo's single scored Ryan Doumit from second with the game winner. Ronnie Paulino had a homer and double while Salomon Torres picked up the win after two innings of shutout ball.

Cards Salvage Pride (But Not the Series) With 13-0 Win

Good start for Ground Chuck; three batters, eight pitches, three groundouts. Joe Kelly is off to an A Game start, too, and it was a quick and quiet opening frame. After a pair of swinging K in the second, Jon Jay rolled a 3-2 sinker up the middle for the game's first knock. Tony Cruz ripped a heater into center to put Redbirds on the corners, and a fastball that got away brought home a run. Sanchez got to the ball quickly and made a high but in time throw home. Morton, though, was beat to the plate by Jay (he didn't make the catch, either), and it was 1-0 Cards. Tony Sanchez drew a walk with two away, and JT worked one, too. Jordy Mercer became the third straight Bucco to walk on a full count, but Morton went down swinging - he may have seen one strike - to remain 0-for-2013.

The Cards went down in order in the third and so did the Bucs.  Allen Craig opened the fourth with a walk. Matt Holliday and David Freese banged back-to-back singles, and Charlie was in hot water. It got hotter when he hit Jon Jay to force home a run after just missing a strike three call on the inside corner. Another run scored in a good trade as Cruz hit into a 5-3 DP. Morton ran the count full to Pete Kozma and gave him a belt-high sinker down the middle; he bounced it into center to make it 4-0; you can't give in with a pitch like that with the pitcher on deck and a base to play with. Kelly hit a tapper; Charlie double clutched the throw and his mound opponent beat it out. Morton's not really helping himself at all today. He got a grounder to end the frame, but it's been a pretty underwhelming four frames, and he's at 73 pitches. Kelly did what a MLB pitcher does; he shut down the Bucs after a big inning by his mates. He's only had two balls hit hard off him in the first four frames; the only good news is that he's at 68 pitches.

Beltran opened the fifth with a single after a long at bat, and Craig followed by going the opposite way for a knock. A right side grounder moved the runners up, and another hit batter loaded the sacks. Charlie worked out of this predicament, though, with a swinging K and grounder to short as Jeanmar Gomez heated up. It was Charlie's last frame. JT got the Bucs started with their first knock, a liner to right. mercer took the glow away two pitches later, banging into a 6-4-3 DP. Morton stayed in, and broke an 0-for-27 streak with a knock through the right side. Marte doubled to the wall in center, with Bucs at second and third; Charlie doesn't have a second gear to kick into. Ahead 2-1, Walker rolled over on a changeup and rolled out to first. with an out in the sixth, Kelly chopped his second infield hit of the night, a high hopper that went over Pedro's head as he was playing in on the pitcher. Kelly was bunted to second, and Beltran doubled him in off the left center fence by the bullpen. That was Charlie's last frame. He went six, giving up five runs on ten hits with a walk, two hit batters and five K after tossing 104 pitches.

Cutch walked to start the Bucco half. Pedro and Jones tried opposite field shots; both balls ended up short of the track routine flies into Holliday's mitt. Tony Sanchez bounced out, and it's 5-0 after six. Gomez took the bump in the seventh. To make a long. long inning short, Jeanmar gave up seven runs in 1/3 of an inning, with the only out a sac fly and Vic Black gave up another. It's 13-0, and the Bucs need a couple of TDs.

Black saved the pen and stayed around to the finish, surprisingly tossing a lot of curves in the first two frames before his pitch count starting getting up there. Lots of subs coming in and out; we're glad the Cards waited until Pittsburgh had four games in the bag to break out the bats. And they were due. The 13 runs they scored tonight equaled the runs they scored total in their last eight games. It was a perfect storm, as both Charlie and Jeanmar had control issues and left a lot of pitches at the belt. But hey, 4-of-5 is a great series, and they're still your first place Pirates.

Tomorrow night is a clean slate with Gerrit Cole taking on the Rockies' Jhoulys Chacin.

• Starling Marte is warming up a little; he now has a five game hitting streak.
• Russ Martin was off because of his knee "tweak" suffered against the Marlins; it could be a nagging  injury that flares up periodically for the rest of the year.
• 31,999 attended tonight's game at PNC Park for a series total  of 129,623, a new club record. The old PNC Park four date attendance mark was 129,473, set against the Mets in 2008.
• From Elias Sports Bureau: On Tuesday, Tony Sanchez became the seventh Bucco catcher to call a shutout in his first game; the last one was Jason Kendall in 1996.
• The last five game sweep in MLB was August 2006 when the Yankees swept the Red Sox. The last Pirate five game sweep was in September 1996 vs. the San Francisco Giants.
• Indy LHP Kris Johnson is a guy you'll see in September. He went seven scoreless tonight, giving up five hits with two walks and three K while throwing 103 pitches. Johnson in 9-4/2.30 and was an International League All-Star this year.

Until We Meet Again: Morton v Kelly

Charlie Morton (3-2, 3.59) will close out the series against Joe Kelly (1-3, 3.44). Though Ground Chuck's command was lacking in his last start, he didn't walk anyone, so there's that. It will be his ninth start since coming off the DL, but his consistency hasn't come around yet. Lefties are hitting .308 off him with a .439 OBP even with a commitment to working them inside and using the change more often; we'll see how that plays out.

Kelly has been the Cardinal version of Jeanmar Gomez. He was solid in his last outing against the Braves, losing 2-0, and earned another start with that effort. The game starts at 7:05 and will be aired by the MLB Network as the Thursday Night Showcase, Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan. Should be a nice night, too, as the rain has moved out as of now and the sun is beaming.

Pirate lineup: Starling Marte LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Garrett Jones
1B, Tony Sanchez C, Jose Tabata RF, Jordy Mercer SS and Charlie Morton P.

Russ Martin is out; let's hope after a remarkable stretch of good health that the Pirate catchers are going down like dominoes. Without him, Hurdle is going back to stacking Pedro and Garrett Jones in the lineup. Jordy Mercer gets the call at short.

Cardinal lineup: 2B Matt Carpenter, RF Carlos Beltran, 1B Allen Craig, LF Matt Holliday, 3B David Freese, CF Jon Jay, C Tony Cruz, SS Pete Kozma and P Joe Kelly.

• Remember the black hole in the batting order when SS was due up? In the past four weeks, Clint Barmes has hit .314 and Jordy Mercer .277.
• Pittsburgh is in line to become the first team to sweep the Cardinals in series of five games or more since the NY Giants won six from St. Louis in September, 1916. 
• The Pirates are 23 + games over .500 entering August for the first time since 1972.
• With a 14-12 record in July, the Pirates have posted four straight winning months to start a season for the first time since 1991 and for just the 15th time in club history (since 1887).
• David Cameron of Fangraphs posts "the Pirates are just the National League version of the A’s," and in a good way.
• Former Bucco Sean Burnett is out for year with torn flexor tendon in his elbow.

August 1: Long Games, Long Balls, Streaks, Plenty of Pitching, B-Days...

Long Games, Long Balls, Streaks, Plenty of Pitching, B-Days...

• 1893 - Pittsburgh crushed St. Louis‚ 25-2 in game one of a twin bill‚ then won the second game‚ 6-1 while banging out 17 hits at Robison Field. Frank Killen won both games against the Browns en route to a 36-win season and even had a homer. Jake Beckley had six hits during the day while Jack Glasscock and Denny Lyons added five more apiece. 
• 1904 - Charlie Case gave up 11 hits but shut out the Cubs 4-0 at Exposition Park. The difference was in the fielding; Chicago made four errors, all leading to Pittsburgh scores, while the Pirates played flawlessly and occasionally brilliantly behind Case. Ginger Beaumont had three hits for the Bucs, while Tommy Leach and Honus Wagner each added a pair of knocks. 
• 1906 - After pitching 10-2/3 innings of no-hit ball at Washington Park, Brooklyn’s Harry McIntyre was touched for a single by Pirates 2B Claude Ritchey. Only 31 bucs faced McIntyre in the first 10 frames, but Pittsburgh beat the Superbas in the 13th when Bob Ganley singled, went to third on Honus Wagner’s double, and scored on Joe Nealon’s knock to take a 1-0 decision behind Lefty Leifield, who went the distance while tossing a nine hitter. 
• 1918 - Pittsburgh and Boston played a record 20 scoreless innings before the Pirates won in the 21st by a 2-0 score at Braves Field. Art Nehf went all the way for Boston, while Erskine Mayer worked the first 15 frames for Pittsburgh, followed by Wilbur Cooper. Cooper scored on Max Carey’s two-out knock and Billy Southworth doubled Carey home with an insurance tally. 
• 1931 - The Pirates stopped the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 at Forbes Field as Glenn Spencer’s three hitter was the team’s third straight shutout. Paul Waner drove in Pie Traynor in the seventh for the games only run. 
• 1943 - Rip Sewell won his eleventh straight start (he did drop a decision as a reliever during that streak) 7-1 over Boston at Forbes Field, tossing a three-hitter. Every game during the skein was a complete game victory. 
• 1950 - C Milt May was born in Gary, Indiana. May began (1970-73) and ended (1983-84) his career as a Pirate, batting .261 as a reserve catcher. He was a member of the 1971 World Series club and 1972 pennant winners, and hit .400 (2-for-5) as a pinch hitter in the postseason. 
• 1951 - Pete Mackanin was born in Chicago. He never suited up for the Bucs as a player, but spent several season with the club as skipper and coach. After managing the Hickory Crawdads and Lynchburg Hillcats in 2001 and 2002, he became the Bucco bench coach in 2003. After Lloyd McClendon was fired, Mackanin served as the Pirates' interim manager for the last month of 2005, leading the team to a 12–14 record. He spent the next season managing in the Pirates' minor league system at Bradenton before moving on to work for other organizations. 
• 1951 - The Dodgers took a 7-2 lead after three innings against Murry Dickson at Forbes Field, but it wasn’t enough as Brooklyn lost to the Bucs 12-9. The Pirates scored four in the fourth and four more in the eighth‚ sparked by Ralph Kiner's 27th homer‚ and snapped da Bums’ winning streak at 10 games. George Strickland drove home three and homered. The win went to Bill Werle and the save to Ted Wilks. 
• 1970 - Willie Stargell smoked three doubles and two home runs against the Braves at Fulton County Stadium. Captain Willie had six RBI and tied a MLB record with five extra base knocks as the Bucs won 20-10. The team set a club record with 14 extra-base hits. Bob Robertson added five more knocks, making Pops and Big Red the first Bucco duo to collect five hits in a game. 
• 2003 - Trailing the Rockies 11-6 with one out and nobody on in bottom of ninth, the Pirates rallied for the win at PNC Park. Four straight runners reached before Abraham Nunez bounced out. With two down, pinch hitter Jeff Reboulet walked, Tike Redman tripled home a pair to tie the game, and Jason Kendall lined a single to left for the win. Deaner Sanchez got the victory. 
• 2009 - Andrew McCutchen tied a club record by homering three times in Pittsburgh’s 11-6 victory over the Nats at PNC Park. Cutch became the 10th player in club history to go long three times in the same game, the first since Aramis Ramirez did it on April 8th, 2001, and the first Buc rookie to collect three bombs in a single game. He added six RBI. 
• 2011 - Derrek Lee was the first Pirate August buy since SS Shawon Dunston in 1997, and made his Pittsburgh debut memorable with two home runs at PNC Park in a 5-3 loss to the Cubs. The excitement was short lived as he was injured soon afterward and missed nearly a month of play, but he came back to hit .337 for the Bucs. There would be no triumphant return in 2012; he retired rather than sign with Pittsburgh.

Deadline Comes, Deadline Goes...

Who would the Pirates land? Mark Trumbo? Kendry Morales? Alex Rios? Hunter Pence? Michael Young? Giancarlo Stanton? For crying out loud, Justin Morneau? Marlon Byrd? Nate Schierholtz? David DeJesus? Ummm, nope. Heck, the FO didn't even get a bargain basement trinket like Chad Qualls or Hisanori Takahashi this year.

So how is it that a team that had just a couple of holes to fill - a RH bat, maybe a lefty to platoon in right, a bench piece, some itching depth with Wandy Rodriguez and Jason Grilli on medical leave - whiff? 

The explanation is simple - it was an extreme seller's market. That has a little to do with a lot of things: a pretty thin pool of available players, front offices straddling the fence about being a wildcard team, the loss of a compensation pick for players traded in mid-season, which drove up their price, guys that became virtually untouchable because of club demands or no-trade clauses, teams hanging on to their homegrown (and controllable) talent.


Neal Huntington said it wasn't from a lack of effort. “There's no question that we forced the issue,” Huntington told the media. “I made offers that made me incredibly uncomfortable.We were willing to do something stupid. We just didn't want to do something insane.”

Those "stupid" deals may have in efforts to land Giancarlo or Trumbo; the Bucs weren't just going for a fix but a knock-out. That fits NH's pattern, but neither the Fish nor Halos were inclined to let their guys go. And the truth is unlike the past two summers, the Buc brass didn't have to plug a dozen leaks in the dam; this campaign, a right handed mid-order stick to slip between Pedro and Garrett Jones, whether at first or right, would have sent the 800 pound gorilla packing.

It's possible that some guys the Pirates like will shake loose in August if they clear waivers, and a lot of the big-money guys do. The Dodger's picked up Adrian Gonzalez,  Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto on August 25th last year. But teams are pretty aggressive down the stretch in making blocking claims, so that's a tough scenario to hang one's hat on.

So we'll see. Hunting alluded to internal candidates, and there are a couple. Tony Sanchez is here for the duration now, with Mike McKenry out. Alex Presley has taken Travis Snider's spot for the time being, and it's possible that Andrew Lambo, who is tearing up in AA and AAA this year and leading the organization in HR with 28, might get his first MLB cup of coffee.

If the starters need reinforced, Brandon Cumpton showed he can answer the bell, and Stolmy Pimentel has been intriguing. They still have Jared Hughes, Ryan Reid and Duke Welker if the bullpen wears thin. Who knows if the old adage "the best trade is the one you don't make" might not hold true this year, with guys like Gregory Polanco, Jameson Taillon, Alen Hansen, Tyler Glasnow & company approaching prime time?

But just sayin', it would have been nice to see Giancarlo between Cutch and Pedro...