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[Spoobir]

Pirates Take Series in St Louis​

The opening game of the series at Busch Park needed one extra inning to decide it and it was Pittsburgh who came out on top in a thrilling slugfest.

Zohaib Ikram got things rolling in the second with his first homer of the season, a solo shot which put the Bucs up 1-0. Things looked even better as they added 5 more in a monster 6th inning when a 3-run blast from Choie (his first homer of the season) brought Coldhill and Verma home, Lee then reached on a single and that left the red-hot Brittany Bevab to crush his third home run in three games and leave the Pirates up 6-0.

This would usually have been a large enough lead but starting pitcher Jones struggled in the 7th as he allowed a home run off Schumaker and then a string of hits which led to an RBI single for Nick Punto and left the bases loaded. Cardinals managed Tony La Russa elected to pinch hit Yadier Molina in the pitcher's spot and he caused raptures in the home crowd with a massive Grand Slam (home run with bases loaded) to tie the game. Jones looked stunned as he left the field after being pulled from the game by the Pirates pitching coach.

Things got even worse for the Pirates in the 8th as reliever Ascanio gave up a 3-run homer to Colby Rasmus which handed the Cardinals a 3-run lead. The runs kept coming though as the Pirates hit back the very next inning with Varun Rustagi hitting a lead-off home run to cut the deficit to 2 runs followed by a 2 RBI single from Verma which levelled the game at 9-9. Aiden Ruth sent the Cardinals down without a hit in the 9th which left the game heading into extra innings.

Jono Choie got the Pirates off to the start they wanted in the 10th with a leadoff single, Lee and Bevab both fell leaving the Pirates with just 1 out remaining but Brendon Hedger managed to tough out a walk to bring Rustagi back to the plate. Despite the pressure situation Varun came through in the clutch to hit a double into the gap and bring Choie home to give the Pirates the lead. They were unable to bring any more across in the inning which left it all down to their plump, bearded closer Papa Smurf.

If he felt any pressure from the situation he didn't show it as he sent the Cards tumbling 1-2-3 to seal an exhilarating victory for the Buccos.

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Key players Zohaib, Bevab, Lee and Coldhill were rested for game 2 of the series which could have contributed to the defeat the Pirates suffered at the hands of the Cardinals as the offense could not reach the heights they had the night before.

Things look promising early on as Wood, in his first plate appearance of the season, blasted a solo shot to put the Pirates ahead in the 3rd. Choie was then struck by a pitch and Ryan Doumit reached with single to bring the struggling Brendon Hedger to the plate. With no hits so far this season he had looked the weak link in this offense despite being hyped as an RBI machine in the pre-season. However it only took one mighty blow to dispel all those demons as he finally got himself a hit with a 3-run dinger to give the Buccos a 4-0 lead, the relief on his face was very apparent as he entered the dug-out.

The Cardinals got a run back in the bottom half of the inning courtesy of a solo shot from Matt Holliday and then 2-more from a 2 RBI double by Nick Punto which made it a 1-run ball game. Pittsburgh starter User Twentyten went 6.2 innings, giving up 8 hits and 3 earned runs, a solid performance but he was eventually let down badly by his relief pitchers.

Jose Veras gave up the lead in the 8th as Jon Jay jacked a solo homer to left field. Jeff Karstens then compounded the misery, giving up 2 hits in the bottom of the 9th which included an RBI for pinch hitter Ryan Theriot to hand the Cardinals a walk-off win and leave the series tied at 1-1.

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Mike Ross took to the mound for the Pirates in his second start of the season and the deciding game of this series. Varun Rustagi and Jono Choie were both rested in what turned out to be a low-scoring pitcher's duel.

It didn't look like it would end up that way as both starters surrendered a run in the first: Lee with a solo home run for the Bucs and an RBI double from Holliday which brought Punto home to level it for the Cards. After that though it was all about the pitchers as Ross went 7 innings, giving up 7 hits and just 1 run. In the end it was the tiring Wainwright, into his 8th inning, who walked pinch hitter Varun and then gave up the RBI single to Doumit which brought Varun home and gave Pittsburgh the lead.

There were no slip-ups in the bullpen this time as Resop and Smurf shut out the Cardinals in the 8th and 9th respectively to earn a series victory for the Pirates.

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So the Pirates head home to Pittsburgh for the first time tomorrow having gone 3-3 in their first 6 games of the season. They will take on the Colorado Rockies in a 4 game series with Riz Khan taking on Ubaldo Jimenez in the opener.

 

[MaD]

Nice first game victory but the other 2 after that were disappointing...
Drew the series so I guess thas al right

 

[Spoobir]

Nice first game victory but the other 2 after that were disappointing...
Drew the series so I guess thas al right

We won the third game mate...

 

[MaD]

Ah my bad

 

[hedger_14]

However it only took one mighty blow to dispel all those demons as he finally got himself a hit with a 3-run dinger to give the Buccos a 4-0 lead, the relief on his face was very apparent as he entered the dug-out.

Ah, about time I hope I can score a few more now. A horrible start to the season apart from that.

 

[Zohaib]

Gun , just got the first homer

KUTGW mate

 

[6ry4nj]

Does the away team always bat first?

 

[Spoobir]

Does the away team always bat first?

Yes, it's part of the home field advantage if the game is tied in the 9th or extra innings that they only need to score one run to end the game with a walk-off win, which is what happened to us in the second game. Whereas in the first game when we took the lead in the 10th, we still had to defend our 1 run lead in the bottom of the inning.

 

[Spoobir]

Pirates Win Walk-Off Thriller​

The Pirates had their first home game in front of a full house at PNC Park and the Pittsburgh fans were not disappointed as their team came from behind twice to claim a walk-off win in the bottom of the 9th.

The visiting Rockies took the lead in the first when Tulowitzki doubled to left to bring home Fowler off Pittsburgh starter Riz Khan. They added one more in the 5th through an RBI single by Helton but the Pirates hit back in the bottom of the inning as they finally got to Colorado starter Jimenez. A Verma double was followed by an RBI single from Doumit, who was pinch hitting for the pitcher, to make it a 1-run ballgame.

Jimenez went 6 innings before being removed from the game after a weak hit by Lee squeezed it's way into the gap for an RBI single to tie the game. Things did not go as planned for reliever Matt Lindstrom as he faced the powerful switch-hitting catcher, Brittany Bevab. With 2 men on base Bevab pulled a ball high and deep down the right field line as the crowd held their breath and willed the ball to stay fair, in the end the ball clunked off the foul pole for a 3-run homer which but the Pirates ahead 5-3. It was his 4th big fly of the season and the crowd showed their appreciation. The hits kept coming for the Bucs and they added one more in the inning through a fielder's choice to make the score 6-2.

Any hope of a comfortable win was erased in the next inning as Pittsburgh reliever Aiden Ruth gave up 3 hits including a solo shot from Tulowitzky and a 2-run jack to right which cut the Pirate's lead to one. When they couldn't add any more in the 8th it was down to closer Papa Smurf to see them home in the 9th.

Smurf did not start well, giving away a lead-off single to Fowler and things only got worse as he left a ball right over the plate for Helton to crush into center. Jono Choie ran back to the wall but his jumping leap was in vain as the ball flew well over his head and the Pirates were now down 7-6.

Needing 2 runs to win in the bottom of the 9th things started well for Pittsburgh as they got 2 hits to put Bevab and Lee on base with nobody out. Things got more tense as Brendon Hedger struck out looking to tie the game which brought Varun Rustagi up to the plate. The home fans' hearts jumped to their mouths as Varun squeezed one towards first base which looked like it could be a double play ball to end the game but amazingly it flew just past the glove of the diving first baseman and brought Cedeno, pinch running for Lee, and the tying run across the plate.

With the scores level Zohaib Ikram, who was hitless so far in the game, had the chance to win it for the Pirates and when he slapped one up the middle and over the pitcher's mound that was all that was required to bring Bevab home and win the game with a walk-off.

Match Highlights​

So after a thrilling first game of the series it'll be Pittsburgh starter Aoun Muhammad taking on the Rockies' Jorge De La Rosa in game 2 tomorrow and he'll be hoping to keep the Pirates' momentum going.

 

[MaD]

Yay a first match win

 

[Zohaib]

Im such a hero , brought Pirates home safetly

 

[Spoobir]

Pirates Shut Out Rockies in Game 2​

It was a dominant display by the Pirates pitching staff in game 2 of the home series against Colorado on Friday night as they combined to 1-hit the rockies in a 4-0 victory.

Starter Aoun Muhammad went 5.2 innings giving up the 1 hit, walking 2 and striking out 6 to earn his first victory of the season. Shut-out innings from Ascanio, Veras and Smurf in relief sealed the victory for Pittsburgh as the Rockies only managed to get 4 men on base during the game.

The Bucs showed their power on the offensive side of the game as well with all of their runs coming from big flies, including back to back homers in the second. A 2-run shot by Ikram after Hedger reached on a base hit followed by Coldhill's first home run of the season. Another solo blast from Rustagi in the 8th added some insurance that was unnecessary thanks to the strong performance by the pitchers.

Match Highlights​

After going 2-0 up in the series the Pirates will have a sweep on their mind as they head into the final 2 games at the weekend. X-Factor Jones heads to the mound tomorrow to take on right-hander Jhoulis Chacin.

 

[MaD]

Sweet, I think we've got this series in the bag

 

[Bevab]

We're playing really well. Hope this momentum continues.

 

[Spoobir]

Pirates One Away From Sweep​

The Pirates took game 3 against the Rockies in Pittsburgh last night as they came from behind thanks to a couple of big blasts off the bat of Truman Lee. Things didn't start well for pitcher X-Factor Jones as he gave up a string of hits to the Colorado top order which left the Bucs 2-0 down after 1. They got one back thanks to an RBI single by Ikram in the 2nd but the Rockies almost immediately added another in the top of the 3rd. Choie doubled in the 5th to bring Lee to the plate as the tying run and he responded by smashing a high fastball deep into the stands in left field to leave the game at 3-3.

After his poor start Jones got himself into the zone as he struck out 11 batters in just 6 innings work, he gave up 3 runs on 5 hits and walked none. It was the combination of Choie and Lee at the top of the order again in the 7th as Choie singled and Lee blasted the Pirates in front with an even bigger dinger into the left field stands top put the Buccos on top.

The Rockies got one back off reliever Mark Steward in the 8th as he gave up a couple of hits and it looked like they might tie the game before he recovered to strike out Iannetta and end the inning. The third 2-run homer of the day, this time to Zohaib Ikram going big to center field, gave the Pirates some breathing room going into the 9th and it looked like they would need it when Smurf gave up a solo home run to Helton which cut the lead to 2. A 1 out single brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Ian Stewart but he could only chop one into his second double-play of the night to end the inning and the game.

The two standout perfomances were Truman Lee and Zohaib Ikram. Lee's two homers were outstanding but Zohaib had a perfect night going 4 for 4 with 2 singles, a double and a homerun. Matt Coldhill had a less impressive night as he went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts.

With the Pirates 3-0 up with 1 to play User Twentyten will take the mound tomorrow to try and complete the sweep and keep the momentum going for Pittsburgh.