Plate Discipline, Rubber Match Lineup & Notes

RHP Kevin Correia (1-4, 4.50) will face Detroit's RHP Max Scherzer (2-3, 6.26). Both guys have been on shaky ground lately, so we're expecting the clubs to put up a few runs. Scherzer will be a mystery to the Pirates; only four guys on the roster have ever hit against him. Ditto for Correia and Detroit; he's only faced them once. The game starts at 1:05 and will be shown on Root Sports.

The lineup: Jose Tabata RF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez DH, Garrett Jones 1B, Josh Harrison 3B, Rod Barajas C, Nate McLouth LF, Clint Barmes SS.

Pedro gets a blow as DH while Harrison goes to the hot corner. He's been a regular part of the lineup recently, having played DH, SS and 2B. Hey, ride a bat while it's hot.

Harrison has been on tear lately, and it seems due (by eyeball, not research) to a little more disciplined approach at bat. Oh, he's still not gonna draw but a once in a blue moon walk, but he's cut back on the off-the-plate stuff he swings at lately, especially early in the count, and it seems to be paying off. And it's just not Josh that needed to calm down. The Pirates are one of the top teams for swinging at pitches off the plate (33%), and not coincidentally, lead the MLB with a 23% strikeout rate. Walks are generally overrated, but plate discipline, hitter's counts and getting a good pitch to hit aren't.

• LHP Jeff Locke joined the team today, replacing Jason Grilli who is on bereavement leave after the passing of his wife's grandfather.
• Elias Sports Bureau sez: The only other Pirate in last 25 years to record multi-HR games over a 3 game span beside Cutch is Pedro Alvarez, who hit two home runs in back-to-back games in July 2010.
• The Bucs are pretty bad in series openers this year, going 3-11. On the other side of the coin, they're 8-2 in three-game set getaway games.
• If you're wondering, Tiger CF Austin Jackson has been out with a mild abdominal injury this series. That's why the Bucs have been given a big dose of Butler native and former Mt. Lebanon HS player Don Kelly, who is also the hubby of Neil Walker's sis Carrie.
• Does this sound familiar? The Tigers haven't won back-to-back games since defeating the Royals on April 17-18.
• For those of you taking part in the Starling Marte watch, don't hold your breath. He's still learning the trade at Indy and hitting .246.
• 1B Matt Adams of  Slippery Rock U. and Philipsburg will join the Cards today. Known for a big stick, he is a top ten SL prospect and was the Texas League MVP last year.

Jeff Locke Gets Call

The Bucs called up LHP Jeff Locke from Indy today, where he was scheduled to start. He replaces RHP Jason Grilli, who went on the bereavement list after his wife's grandfather's death and may not be back until the Pirates return home.

We're not exactly sure how the Pirates plan to use him. He could bump KC today, but we'd suspect by the circumstances that he's here as long-man insurance for the pen should Correia falter. Locke was 3-3 with a 3.02 ERA for the Tribe, putting up a 1.217 WHIP with 36K and 10BB in 47-2/3 frames. He pitched some last September for the big club, and not too well - he was 0-3 with a 6.48 ERA as a starter, with command issues in his first nibble at the apple.

He's a lefty that can get into the low 90s, and his change and curve are considered his best pitches. Locke's been able to get guys out from either side of the dish, and is thought to have a little more upside than Rudy Owens.

Locke came to Pittsburgh in 2009 with Charlie Morton and Gorkys Hernandez as part of the Nate McLouth deal with Atlanta; now the Pirates have all four guys on the active roster.

Cutch 4 Motown 3

Hey, the Bucs got back on their first inning roll today against Drew Smyly. Decked out in the Pittsburgh Crawford unis, Josh Harrison dropped a first pitch, one-out bunt for a basehit. The next pitch was a fastball down Broadway, and Cutch was the wrong guy to serve that to, as he pounded it over the fence in left center to put the Bucs up 2-0. AJ Burnett had little trouble with the Tigers in the opening frame, giving up a two-out ground single to Miguel Cabrera.

Pittsburgh worked hard but came up empty in the second. Casey McGehee broke an 0-for-20 streak when his chopper got past a diving Jhonny Peralata into left with one away. With two down, JT hit an infield single to the SS hole, and Harrison drew an eleven pitch walk, his first of the year, to bring up Cutch. He got a heater away, but fell short as his fly to right was caught on the front edge of the track. Young Mr. Smyly won't be long for the mound today; he's already at 54 pitches.

Detroit went through the same frustration in their half. With two away, Brennan Boesch took a curve into right for a knock. Peralta lifted a foul fly down the right field line, and after a long run and slide, JT had it hit off his glove. That triggered a wild spell for Burnett. He walked Peralta and Ramon Santiago, who was hitting .175. The count ran full to Don Kelly, who fought off a pitch and lifted a pop foul into the first row of seats; Pedro Alvarez leaned over and made the grab to get the Pirates out of the inning. That missed foul by JT cost Burnett a boatload of pitches; he's now up to 43 himself.

Pittsburgh went down in order. Smyly's hook has the Buc batters looking like little leaguers at Bud Hammer Field; he has 5 K. Andy Dirks led off by lining a double the opposite way to left. An out later, Prince Fielder caught hold of a hanger and drilled it into the RF seats to tie the game. Two pitches earlier, he hit a weak dribbler, but Barajas got a late break out of the box and opted to let it go foul rather than take the out with the runner holding tight at third; bad choice in hindsight. Delmon Young followed with a single, but AJ worked out of the frame. His curve has a mind of its own today, and that's not good.

Yamaico Navarro fought off a fastball to bloop a single into center in the fourth; an out later he broke early and was caught stealing 1-3-6. Burnett looked to have an easy frame after two outs, but walked Kelly, a .204 hitter on five pitches. A stolen base and wild pitch had him perched on third, but Dirks flew out to left to keep the game knotted.

With one away in the fifth, Smyly plunked Harrison in the shin with a two-strike slider. He'd pay when he tried to sneak a heater on the outside half past Cutch, who dropped it over the fence in the right field corner to make it 4-2. An out later, The Kid lined a knock, and Jimmy Leyland waved in Brayan Villarreal. He K'ed Rod Barajas, who went down for the third time today. AJ again got the first two outs easily, then gave up a monster double to Young, who banged it off the wall past the 420' mark. Avila bounced out to maintain the Bucco lead at two.

The Pirates went down 1-2-3 to Villarreal in the sixth. Like a broken record, Burnett got the first pair of Motown batters and gave up a single to Santiago. He whiffed Kelly, only the second K of the game for AJ. After six, it was 4-2 Pittsburgh.

Villarreal, who was gassing at 97, mowed down the Bucs again. Cutch drove one of those heaters about 405' into straight center, but at Comerica, it didn't even reach the track. Burnett went six without his good stuff, but gave up just two runs on seven hits with three walks and 2K, tossing 106 pitches. Jason Grilli came on, and Nate McLouth went to left, replacing Navarro. With glove guy Gorkys Hernandez sitting on the bench, we can only guess he wasn't called up at Hurdle's request.

Detroit cut the lead to a run. with one out, Cabrera and Fielder both lined knocks the opposite way. A fly to center got Cabrera to third, and he came home when a rising heater, about shoulder high, ticked off Barajas' mitt for a passed ball. Lefty Phil Coke came on for the Tigers.

Walker singled with an out and went to third when Barajas fought off an 0-2 pitch and blooped it into right. After missing on a delayed squeeze, McGehee went down swinging at a backfoot curve. McLouth hit, even lefty vs lefty, and hit a slow roller to third. Cabrera barehanded the ball and shorthopped the throw; Fielder made the pick and the Bucs were finished in the eighth. Can't blame Hurdle for playing for an insurance run, but McGehee had hit the ball sharply all three at-bats and the skipper left a couple of RH bats on the bench to let McLouth hit.

Juan Cruz worked a quiet bottom half. Boesch led off with a knock. Cruz whiffed Peralta and got Santiago on a bullet to first but right at McGehee, who stepped on the bag for the 3 unassisted DP. Juaquin Benoit took the hill for Detroit. Pittsburgh went down in order, and Hanny took the mound to face the top of the Motown lineup. After two were away, what else? He walked Cabrera to bring Fielder to the dish. But Hanny was equal to the task; he got him swinging at a 1-2 slider, and the Bucs hung on 4-3.

The game comes down to this question - with the Pirate offense in the state it's in, why would any pitcher let Andrew McCutchen beat him?

Max Scherzer and Kevin Correia hook up tomorrow afternoon for the deciding game of the set.

• Burnett didn't have a 1-2-3 inning, but got the first two outs in five of the six frames he pitched.
• Nate McLouth is in an 0-for-16 funk.
• Colin Dunlap found the reason why Detroit's Miguel Cabrera sports a Duquesne U. tee under his uni. And it's not the shared Gothic D.

Notes, Lineup Card

RHP A.J. Burnett (1-2, 5.12) takes the bump versus Tiger LHP Drew Smyly (1-0, 2.31) this afternoon. Burnett has been rock steady except for one bad outing, but has had problems with Detroit (6.33 ERA in eight starts). Smyly was yanked early by Jimmy Leyland during his last outing. The game starts at 4:05 and will be shown on Root Sports.

The lineup: Jose Tabata RF, Josh Harrison 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Neil Walker DH, Rod Barajas C, Casey McGehee 1B, Yamiaco Navarro LF, Clint Barmes SS.

Harrison's stock is going up as a middle utility guy; Clint Hurdle has him at second while giving The Kid a break as DH. JT spent yesterday on the bench after a series of faux pas Thursday night, but he's back in good graces today. We're a little surprised Gorkys Hernandez isn't in left; usually Hurdle trots his call-ups out pretty quickly to get their feet wet. Maybe he's getting the Pedro Ciriaco treatment.

• AJ Burnett has recorded 18 career wins in interleague play, ranking him among the top ten in victories.
• Today the Pirates and Tigers will pay tribute to the Negro Leagues by donning the uniforms of the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Detroit Stars.
• Jeff Karstens has been tentatively scheduled to make a two-inning rehab start on Monday at Altoona. 
• Indy was shut out for the fourth straight time yesterday. My kingdom for a bat!
• Mike White of the Post Gazette notes that "Pine-Richland's Blake Lalli got called up by the Cubs yesterday." He's a lefty utility guy, and it's always sweet to see a local kid in the show.

Bucs Bow 6-0; Harrison Breaks Up No No In Ninth

The Bucs didn't get a lot going against Justin Verlander from the gate, just a one-out walk drawn by Neil Walker, although coming into tonight they had scored in 5-of-6 opening frames. The Tigers, on the other hand, kinda liked what they saw from Charlie Morton.

With an out, Andy Dirks lined a knock into center. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder (sheesh, we thought we done with him) smacked back-to-back doubles, and it was quickly 2-0. The Pirates went down in order. Verlander has thrown 23 pitches in his two frames; Morton has tossed 24 in one. The Bucs might be a little nervous about not loading up on the bullpen about now.

Jhonny Peralta led off by rolling a single to right. That was taken care of when a jam job served to Ryan Raburn was bounced to short to start a 6-4-3 DP. Don Kelly went down on strikes, and it's on to the third. Pittsburgh went down 1-2-3; that's eight in a row for Verlander. Morton found his mojo, too, putting Motown away while K'ing Cabrera and Fielder.

Walker lined out to the right center gap, while Cutch and Pedro Alvarez went down swinging at off-speed stuff.

Delmon Young turned on a fastball tight and at the knees and airmailed 418' to the fans in left center to make it 3-0. Alex Avila got ahead 2-0 and drilled a heater into right for a knock. Brennan Boesch took another fastball up the middle. Morton's sinker, well, isn't sinking all that often. Peralta lined a curve to El Toro for out number one. Raburn grounded to third; the Bucs got the force at second. Kelly took an 0-2 curve low and off the plate and lined into right to make it 4-0. Even when Morton makes a pitch, the Tigers are all over it. The inning ended on a comebacker.

Pittsburgh went down quietly again in the fifth, as did the Tigers. The Pirate batters again touched first and jogged to the dugout in the sixth, although Josh Harrison drove a curve to left center, where Kelly made a nice running grab to keep the slate clean. With two away in the Detroit half, Peralta lined a knock to left and was stranded. Morton's velocity has been down a couple of ticks, but that may be helping the ball sink; all three outs this frame were hit in the dirt.

The Kid, with two good at-bats against Verlander already, was rung up on a pitch that was well low and away; guess the ump, CB Bucknor, has no-hit fever too (although he has called a generous outer zone against lefties all game). Cutch walked to become the Bucs' second baserunner. He got as far as second.

Chris Resop came on for Pittsburgh. Give Morton credit. He hung in without his good stuff and gave the club six innings. He gave up four runs on nine hits and a walk with four Ks after 92 pitches. Resop walked Kelly to open the Tiger seventh. With two away, Fielder dinked an infield single; don't see many of those from him. It cost a pair when Young roped one of the wall in center to plate the runners.

Jimmy Leyland brought in a couple of new glove guys in the eighth, like he needed them. Verlander struck out the side, touching 100 on his heater. Brad Lincoln took the bump for the Buccos, and Ramon Santiago shipped a fastball down the middle into right for a two-bagger. Peralta doubled to center; unsure if Cutch could run it down, Santiago only moved to third. Raburn struck out, as did Kelly and Dirks. Nice finish to a rough start.

Now the drama begins. Mike McKenry bounced a 3-2 pitch to short for the first out. Harrison, a notorious bad ball hitter, went up hacking. He fell behind 0-2 quickly, but a couple of pitches later blooped a slider off the plate up the middle beyond SS Peralta to end Verlander's no-hit bid. The Kid and Cutch bounced out, and the Tigers had a 6-0 win to open the series.

Give Verlander his props. He threw all four of his pitches over the black and was downright nasty tonight. But then again, the bottom five hitters in the Pirate order all ended the game batting under the Mendoza line. While that doesn't guarantee a no-no, it sure doesn't make a pitcher, especially of Verlander's caliber, shiver his timbers. And he didn't, striking out 12 and walking two.

AJ Burnett goes against Drew Smyly tomorrow afternoon.

• The Pirates were last no-hit on Aug. 14th, 1971, when Bob Gibson and Cards whipped the Lumber Company at TRS 11-0. Pops went down swinging for the last out. It was, surprisingly, the Hall-of-Famer's only no no, and he was 35 when he earned it. The Bucco no-hit streak is second-longest in MLB, and still barely intact. It was the second time in 39 games that the team has been one-hit.
• With Brad Lincoln throwing tonight, it appears that Kevin Correia will make his regular start on Sunday. That ends speculation that his last couple of outings may have cost him his spot in the rotation.

Lineup, Notes, Gorkys Called Up, Cutch's Web Gem

RHP Charlie Morton (2-3, 4.05) goes against Motown's RHP Justin Verlander (4-1, 2.47). The Tigers have lost 17 of its last 26 games, and were just swept by the last-place Minnesota Twins. But Verlander is an interleague beast; he's 15-2 against the NL and won all three cross-league games in 2011. The game starts at 7:05 and be shown on Root Sports.

The lineup:Josh Harrison DH, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Garrett Jones RF, Casey McGehee 1B, Nate McLouth LF, Clint Barmes SS, Mike McKenry C.

OK - JT deservedly got a spot on the bench after having all sorts of problems last night (no hit, no field, no run, no effort), but geez, Nate McLouth? Not much choice, we guess. Barajas gets a seat again; it still feels to us that the more he hits, the less he plays. And if you need an indictment of the Pirate bench, try "Josh Harrison, DH." But again, not very many options for Clint Hurdle.

The Pirates sent Evan Meek back to Indy and called up CF Gorkys Hernandez. Hernandez was hitting .266 at Indy and is one of the better glove guys in the system. They probably could use a CF-capable type with the way JT has been playing the field and Alex Presley's demotion. We would have liked to see a bigger bat, like Jake Fox, Jeff Clement or Matt Hague get the call, but hey, that's us. Fox and Clement create 40-man roster problems, and as we saw in the last extra inning game, the Bucs have first basemen out the wazoo.

• At least one Bucco is sad to leave DC. Andrew McCutchen has a career line of .447 with six doubles, two triples, ten home runs, 21 RBI and 24 runs in his 23 games against the Nats. Oh, and his juggling catch after banging off the wall tracking Adam LaRoche's blast was ESPN's Web Gem last night.
• While a contract for Neil Walker has been a popular subject, locking up James McDonald, who's arb-eligible next year, is also trending. Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects takes a look at what it should take to sign him, and comes up with 5 years/$25-30M. 
• Might be a little tough to get much offensive help in-house right now. Indy has gone scoreless for 33 straight innings, covering three full games and most of a fourth. Alex Presley went 0-for-4 with three whiffs in his first Indy start last night, so he may be there awhile, too.

Pellas on the Pirates: The Pirates at the Quarter Pole, or, How to Hang Around, Improbably

The late Sparky Anderson always used to say that he never drew any conclusions about any of the teams he managed until they had played 40 games, or a quarter of a season. In keeping with that wisdom,and because the Bucs have now competed in 38 contests in 2012, I figure we're close enough to the "quarter pole" to draw some conclusions about the latest edition of the Nutting Era Pirates.

Let's start with the positive: this team's pitching is legitimately good. Maybe even contender good, if by some miracle the current pace can be sustained. I say "miracle" because it will surely take something not far from supernatural intervention to keep any number of Pirate pitchers' arms from falling off given how badly the bullpen has already been abused.

But it's hard to argue with the results. The 2012 pitching staff has been at or near the top of the heap among all major league teams right from the get go. A special nod here must be given to both Erik Bedard and to the man who signed him, General Manager Neal Huntington.

Bedard is certainly one of the better lefthanded starting pitchers in the game on the rare occasions when his broken-down body feels like cooperating. He's also that rare southpaw who is capable of high strikeout numbers. Bringing him in was an astute move by Huntington, even if Bedard would never have come to Pittsburgh had he been remotely healthy in recent years and thus not in need of a port in a storm. Credit Huntington, though, for making the right read on Bedard's circumstances and for moving quickly to sign him.

Another Huntington acquisition, James McDonald, has been lights out and looks to be building toward a career year. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in his most recent start. Charlie Morton made it back more quickly than expected from off season hip surgery, and while he hasn't been great, he has been closer to last season's breakout than to the 2010 implosion that nearly sank his career.

A. J. Burnett, despite a currently-unsightly 5.12 ERA, has been much better than that with the lone exception of one horrendous (probably career worst) start. Even fifth starter Kevin Correia hasn't been bad, though he will presumably be bumped to the 'pen once manager Clint Hurdle decides to give resurgent Brad Lincoln a regular spot in the rotation and/or when Jeff Karstens makes it back from his early season shoulder injury.

The relievers haven't been as spectacular as the starters - and it says here that closer Joel Hanrahan may have peaked over the first half of last season and he's looked a lot more like a mere mortal ever since - but by and large they have been reliable and effective. Grizzled veterans Jason Grilli and Juan Cruz in particular have come through in a number of high pressure situations, usually with multiple strikeouts. Grilli and Cruz are "journeymen" by any other name, but you wouldn't know it from their effectiveness while wearing black and gold.

Unfortunately, there's the hitting, or rather, the complete and total lack of hitting outside of Andrew McCutchen. Consider that the Pirates have somehow managed 18 wins in 38 contests with the worst "offense" in all of American professional baseball as of a couple of weeks ago. You read that right, folks. Your Pirates are the single worst outfit wearing major OR minor league threads when it comes to scoring runs.

There are numerous culprits. Everyone knew coming into the season that the starting outfielders, particularly the corner outfielders, had considerably less over the wall power than most teams typically field.

However, there was also reason for optimism: both projected starters, right fielder Jose Tabata and left fielder Alex Presley, were "four tool" types in the minors, both had shown lots of ability other than over the wall power, and it was frankly kinda cool to see a couple of 1970s throwbacks bringing some old school National League style back to Pittsburgh. In other words you don't necessarily need to hit lots of home runs if you're doing literally everything else, and both Tabata and Presley appeared to be more than capable of playing that style and playing it well.

Alas, Tabata had an ice cold start and Presley fell into a 3-for-42 tailspin that landed him all the way back down to Triple A. Tabata seems to have turned it on in recent weeks, but has still looked more like a good fourth outfielder than a legitimate starter, overall.

Fan favorite Nate McLouth, brought back to Pittsburgh as insurance in the event that Tabata or Presley failed, has looked...well, finished. He's done absolutely nothing with the opportunity that presented itself when Presley failed. Garrett Jones still has his moments, but his game is what it is: brief stretches of unconscious power hitting followed by much longer stretches of complete futility coupled with mediocre outfield defense.

Turning to the infield, Casey McGehee, brought in via trade from the Brewers last offseason, hasn't hit for power or for average and has fallen near the Mendoza Line. Pedro Alvarez, despite an impressive power surge in April, is not out of the woods yet, himself, and he's done nothing for the past two to three weeks.

Neil Walker looks to me like he has stagnated. His modest power seems to have disappeared, and he's not hitting for enough of an average to compensate. Prior to this season, he was said in some quarters to be headed for a multi-year extension as the next building block in the ongoing team rebuilding project. But he's done nothing with the stick in 2012 to show that the team should invest in him that way, though his glovework has been impressively and unexpectedly pretty good for a guy who is really playing out of position when you get right down to it.

Veteran catcher Rod Barajas, whose defense and game-calling has been a welcome relief from previous starter Ryan Doumit's butchery, has finally started to turn it around recently after a horrendous start with the bat. As advertised, he does have power, but he still has just 5 RBI for the season. That's "five", as in, "one more than four".

Then there's shortstop Clint Barmes. Barmes has been benched for several games recently in favor of utility man Josh Harrison, and deservedly so, even though Harrison really can't play shortstop. Barmes was brought in as a presumed upgrade over previous starter Ronnie Cedeno, and he had a respectable resume. Unfortunately he has looked all but helpless at the plate, and his struggles have been so great that they've overshadowed his consistently pretty good defense, which is saying something.

While there's still time for him to prove otherwise, it's hard to escape the conclusion that Barmes' career is in jeopardy. He'll get plenty of chances because the Pirates don't really have a viable alternative in the upper minors, where athletic Chase d'Arnaud can run but not play baseball so well, and steadier Jordy Mercer appears to have a limited ceiling.

Rarely has a team had such contrast between its pitching and defense on one side and its hitting, or total lack of it, on the other. If not for Andrew McCutchen's incredible start, the Pirates might have fielded the worst offense in the live ball era over the first six weeks of 2012.

And yet, here they are, hanging around in the NL Central, just a few games back at the quarter pole. Improbable, yes, but the opportunity for this team to make some noise in the division is definitely there. The Cubs and Astros are rebuilding. The Brewers and Cardinals have fallen back to the pack after significant offseason personnel losses. The Reds are decent but hardly imposing.

Assuming the pitching holds up, a couple of productive veteran bats could make a real difference for the Pirates and might even make them at least wild card contenders this season. On the other hand, if the players currently on the roster play to their career norms over the remainder of the year, there might be enough improvement from within to make things interesting, or at least, interesting enough for the front office to decide to hold onto its kids rather than trade some to get some hitting.

For now, the Pirates are better than bad, but worse than good. Probably a little below the middle of the pack overall, though with the asterisk that they appear to have a pitching staff that is considerably better than that. The question is whether to go out and get some hitting from outside the organization, or take the rest of the 2012 season to answer some lingering questions and see where we are next year.

(Will Pellas is a regular contributor to the Green Weenie, and today gives us his tout sheet as the Bucs come out of the first turn.)

McCutch, Barajas Blasts Lead Bucs To 5-3 Win

Well, stick with what works. Jordan Zimmerman got ahead with heaters and then punched out both JT and Neil Walker on curves. Unfortunately for the Z-Man, Cutch was watching his sequence and took one of those early heaters the opposite way and into the Nat pen to stake the Bucs to a 1-0 lead. James McDonald used fifteen pitches to sit down Washington, with a pair of whiffs.

In the second, Casey McGehee tried hard for his first long ball, but Rick Ankiel hauled his drive on the track in straightaway center, 400' away. Rod Barajas rolled a two-out single into left and Josh Harrison followed with a rope into center. They didn't score, but at least they got J-Mick to the plate and the top of the order due in the third. Fifteen more pitches for McDonald in the second and three more strikeouts. He's dealing in the early going.

With one down in the third, Walker rolled a 3-2 heater into right for a knock. This time, Zimmerman's fastball bested Cutch, who grounded into a 6-4-3 DP after first launching a drive that bent barely foul. J-Mick was on a roll; he struck out the first two batters before his mound foe flew out routinely to Cutch; he had six straight Ks going into that at-bat.

Pedro had the green light on a 3-0 count, and hit a weak fly to left as he was late on a heater. Garrett Jones went up hacking and struck out swinging at three pitches off the dish. McGehee drew a free pass, and it worked just fine. Barajas caught a fastball belt high on the inside half of the plate and knocked it over the LF fence to give the Bucs a 3-0 lead and J-Mick a little breathing room. He whiffed two more, and even with 9 Ks in four innings is only at 53 pitches.

The Pirates went down in order in the fifth. Bryce Harper became the first Nat baserunner when he nursed a 3-2 walk from McDonald after leadoff hitter Adam LaRoche had his extra base hit bid sweetly snared by a leaping Cutch in center, who juggled the catch after bouncing off the wall. Harper stayed put after a fly out and another fan job.

As so often happens, the guy making the great catch leads off. And Cutch celebrated in a hurry, jerking a first pitch slider out of the yard for his second bomb of the night. El Toro then reached on SS Ian Desmond's throwing error. A wild pitch moved him to second, and there he remained. Z-Man is at 107 pitches, and likely has seen his last hitter of the night.

Washington got its first knock when Jesus Flores nailed a hanging 1-2 slider into left for a two-bagger. Pinch hitter Steve Lombardozzi followed with a first pitch double to left center that deflected off JT's glove on a ball he called Cutch off to put runners at second and third.

A grounder to third and a K held them there, but Ryan Zimmerman ruined the effort with a single to right, plating both men. He went to second on the throw to the plate that missed the cut-off man. LaRoche went with a slider on the outside black and blasted it off the wall in left center; the big guy chugged all the way into third on a ball that turned Tabata around in the outfield.

That was it for J-Mac; Tony Watson came in to face the lefty Harper. McDonald went 5-2/3 frames, giving up three runs on four hits with a walk and career high 11 whiffs on 86 pitches. Watson did his job, getting the rook on a 3-2 sinker that he popped up to Barajas. But it's a game now at 4-3; sometimes that third out is a bear to get.

Craig Stammen came on in the seventh, and Harrison greeted him by pulling a ground double up the line into left. Clint Barmes came in to pinch hit...and bunted. He moved Harrison over to the hot corner. JT followed with a 3-2 walk. The Kid poked a fastball that was way outside to short, but it worked as he beat the relay to first and Harrison came home to make it 5-3. Played for a run, got a run - and in this case, a big one.

Juan Cruz took the bump for the Pirates while Barmes stayed on to play short. Danny Espinosa smacked a ball toward the left field notch that JT dropped to start the Nats off; it was generously ruled a double. Rick Ankiel fought him and finally drew a nine pitch walk. A bunt moved them up 90 feet. Lombardozzi weakly rolled one back to the mound, icing the runners. Desmond spoiled a couple before going down on a slider; the Bucs got that third out this inning as Cruz hung tough.

Old Bucco lefty Sean Burnett climbed the hill for the Nats in the eighth with Pedro and Jones due up. It took him eight pitches to retire the side. Jason Grilli grabbed the ball for the Buccos as Nate McLouth went to left, JT to right and Jones sat down. He walked Chad Tracy to begin the frame. Zimmerman went down looking. Pirate nemesis LaRoche took a ball to the track in center, but Cutch was there to take it in. Harper hit a can of corn to right center, and the last mile approached.

Ryan Mattheus took over in the ninth, and his first pitch was dropped into right by Barajas, his third knock of the evening. Oddly, McLouth wasn't bunting, and popped out. Barmes lined a single to right, Barajas stopping at second. Tabata swung at the first pitch, rolled it barely past the plate, and was the back end of a rare 2-5-3 DP. He didn't break much of a sweat getting up the line, capping an all-around tough night.

It was Hanny time. With an out, Ankiel walked on a 3-2 pitch, with all the balls just outside the black. Flores reached on an infield roller that Walker fielded on the shortstop side of second. Lombardozzi popped out foul to Pedro. Desmond swung through a slider to end the drama; the Bucs split the short series with the Nats with a 5-3 win as J-Mick won his third and Hanny notched save #8.

The good news is that Bucs righted the ship; the bad news is that they had to use four more relievers, who shut out the Nats. They're headed to Detroit for three games, where they'll be playing with a DH at a time when they're carrying an extra arm, which could work out minus the need for a pinch hitter. No break after that, either - the Bucs aren't off until the 24th.

Charlie Morton faces Justin Verlander tomorrow night in Motown in the opener of a three game set.

• Tonight marked the first multi-HR game for a Pirate player this season, and was the fifth of Cutch's career.
• A little early for scoreboard watching, but the Pirates (18-20) are in third place right now, four games back of the Cards. So they're hangin' around.

Lineup, Notes

RHP James McDonald (2-2, 2.42) goes up against the Nat's RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-3, 2.14). J-Mac has been a beast lately, going 29 IP with 33 K and a 1.86 ERA in his past four starts. Zimmerman has been tough, too, with his record more indicative of Washington's weak offense rather than so-so pitching. The game starts at 7:05 and will aired on Root Sports.

The lineup: Jose Tabata LF, Neil Walker 2B, Andrew McCutchen CF, Pedro Alvarez 3B, Garrett Jones RF, Casey McGehee 1B, Rod Barajas C, Josh Harrison SS, James McDonald P.

After a 3-RBI night, Harrison gets the nod at short.

• J-Mac has received a total of 13 runs of support when he's in the game during his first seven starts, and nine of those came in one game. So in his other six starts he's gotten four runs scored behind him.
• Since the beginning of last year, Neil Walker has put up a .992 fielding percentage, which ranks second in the Majors among second basemen behind Mark Ellis (.996). He has two errors in 188 chances this season and a 6.0 UZR/150.
• Josh Harrison is 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position this season.
• Jared Hughes enters today with the lowest ERA (1.31) among all rookie pitchers in the Majors.
• Jim Shonerd of Baseball America features West Virginia SS Alen Hanson in the Prospect Blog, and questions whether he can field the position as he moves along.
• Keith Law of ESPN released his first mock draft of the year today. With the eighth overall pick, Law has SS Deven Marrero of Arizona State going to the Pirates. So does Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. Ditto for Baseball America’s mock draft last week. Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects has the analysis.
• Jamie Romak, a part of the Adam LaRoche deal who never panned out in the Pittsburgh organization, had his contract bought by Saint Louis from KC. The 26 year old is playing AAA ball and still hasn't conquered upper level pitching, batting .147 in limited playing time this season.

LaRoche Drives In Four; Bucs Fall 7-4

The Bucs first inning run streak come to a halt against Gio Gonzalez; he gave up just a two-out knock to Cutch. But it wouldn't stop the Nats. With one away, Bryce Harper tripled off the wall when JT's leap fell short and the ball ricocheted away.  He came in on Ryan Zimmerman's bounce out. A single and walk followed, but that was to be all the early damage against Eric Bedard.

The Pirates K'd in order in the second for four-in-a-row whiffs for GG, and the Nats went down quietly, too. Pittsburgh went down 1-2-3 again in the third. Ian Desmond led the frame off with a homer when Bedard hung a 1-2 hook, and it was 2-0. He did pick up his first pair of K's, fanning Harper and Adam LaRoche; he's only three behind Gonzalez.

The Pirates were up and down again; that's 10 in a row for Gonzalez. Cutch continues to square up, though, flying out to the fence in left center, and at least all three hitters put the ball in play. Washington went down in order.

Yamaico Navarro fell behind 0-2, but worked a nine pitch walk to open the fifth. Rod Barajas singled into center, and the Bucs were in business with runners at first and third. Clint Barmes K'ed when he couldn't lay off the high heat. Josh Harrison softly lined a 2-0 sinker into center that Harper misread to make it 2-1. Bedard couldn't help himself, awkwardly fouling off two bunts before chasing a fastball a mile off the dish. JT got a four seamer at the belt, but bounced it to short to end the frame. Bedard put DC away, picking up another pair of whiffs and notching his ninth straight Nat.

Walker whiffed fishing for a curve at his feet. Cutch bounced out, and McGehee K'ed swinging. Bedard fanned Harper and Zimmerman for 11 consecutive Nats down, but on a 1-2 count fed LaRoche a heater that was over the dish instead of away and watched him line it over the fence in right center to make it 3-1. Then Xavier Nady took a change that stayed up yard, and the game was getting away. Danny Espinosa bunted for a single. Tyler Moore had the green light on a 3-1 pitch and roped a ball to center, but Cutch was there. Still, 4-1 is quite a mountain for the punchless Pirates to climb.

Barajas drew a one down pass. He came in an out later when Harrison, showing (for him) great patience, drove a 2-1 fastball out of the park, crushing the low heat to left center for his first long fly of 2012. Nate McLouth grabbed a bat, but went down swinging at a high fastball, Gonzalez's tenth K of the night. But it is interesting now at 4-3. The line on Bedard was six innings, allowing four runs on six hits (three homers and a triple), one walk and seven whiffs after 92 pitches. The newly recalled Evan Meek took over, as Hurdle opted to rest his beleaguered bullpen rather than stick to the tried and true.

Jesus Flores fell behind 0-2, then got plunked with a high and tight heater. He was bunted to second. Desmond K'ed, and Meek worked around Harper, walking him on four pitches. Zimmerman walked to load the sacks, catching a break on a couple of borderline calls. LaRoche ripped the first pitch he saw for a bases-clearing and backbreaking double to right. Nady struck out, but the Bucs were down 7-3.

Meek has his velocity - he was touching 96 - but he's still up in the zone and flat, a bad combo. And the runners that scored were on base because of two walks and a HBP. It also shows why Clint Hurdle would like two lefties in the pen, as Tony Watson threw 22 pitches yesterday and worked 3 of the last 4 games. Otherwise, you'd have to think he'd be the guy facing LaRoche.

Tyler Clippard took over for Washington. JT singled and stole second as Walker K'ed. Cutch singled him to third. McGehee swung at ball four, but it wasn't totally fruitless; he lifted a sac fly to left, though the Pirates could use runners, to make it 7-4. Pedro came on to pinch hit, and bounced the first pitch to second to end the inning. We expected Garrett Jones, who's much more experienced coming off the bench, but at least a big stick got a swing.

Jared Hughes came on for the ninth. This was his third consecutive game, a Hurdle no-no, but he's only thrown 24 pitches in those two prior outings. He was effective again, getting Washington 1-2-3 on 15 pitches. Henry Rodriguez came on to finish for the Nats. Barajas reached on an E6. Barmes K'ed for the third time during an at-bat where he may not have seen a strike. Harrison turned on a 1-2 fastball and one-hopped it to the SS hole where Zimmerman cut it off and started a game-ending 5-4-3 DP.

The Pirate FO has some work to do. Clint Hurdle doesn't have a bench to call on, and the bullpen is being overworked. There are no easy answers, but some movement has to be made, even if it's internal.

James McDonald goes against Jordan Zimmerman tomorrow night.

• Jared Hughes now has a seven appearance (9 IP) scoreless skein.
• The Pirate bullpen had a 16 inning scoreless streak ended after LaRoche's double off of Evan Meek.
• Not only was Josh Harrison's homer his first of the year, but it was the first surrendered by Gio Gonzalez, who was the last qualified starter, innings-wise, to give up a bomb this season.
• Jeff Karstens continues to make slow progress. He threw 20 pitches against live hitting today.
• So far this year, Adam LaRoche is hitting .583 against the Bucs, with three runs, eight RBI, two doubles, three homers and an OBP of .688. Not too surprising; he's hit .360 with seven homers against his old mates since being traded away.