Pirates can't finish sweep, lose 9-7 to Marlins

The Pittsburgh Pirates could not get the series sweep of the Marlins, losing 9-7 today in a Thursday afternoon game. Zach Duke(3-7) started and got rocked(as usual) going 4 innings giving up 6 runs on 12 hits. Duke leads the majors in hits allowed as he did last year. Adam LaRoche hit his 9th homerun as he went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI's(42), he also got his 18th double. Freddy Sanchez was also 3 for 5 with a double(16) and 1 RBI(26). The Pirates are now 33-45. They start a 3 game series with the Washington Nationals Friday night in Pittsburgh where a mass walk-out is expected by the fans in between the 3rd and 4th innings to protest the state of the team.

Pirates Win 7-5 in 10 Innings

The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Florida Marlins 7-5 in 10 innings Wednesday night. Xavier Nady(12,13) hit two homers, including the game winning solo shot in the 10th, Ryan Doumit(4) hit one the next at-bat to make the score 7-5. Jose Bautista(7) hit a two-run homer in the 3rd. Nady was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI's(45). Freddy Sanchez was also 3 for 5 and his average is now .297. John Van Benschoten started tonight but only lasted 4 innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, but he also walked 5 batters. Shawn Chacon(4-1) got the win and Matt Capps pitched the bottom of the 10th to get his 7th save. Hanley Ramirez(11) hit a home run for the Marlins. Kevin Gregg(0-3) gave up the solo homers in the 10th for the loss. The Pirates are now 33-44 and 12.5 games back of Milwaukee.

Pirates Over Marlins 3-2

The Pirates took the first game of a road series in Florida 3-2. Paul Maholm(4-10) pitched great going 7.2 innings giving up 2 runs on 3 hits to get the win. Brett Carroll got a single in the first, Dan Uggla(16) homered in the third, and Jason Wood got a single in the eighth, Shawn Chacon got the last out of the 8th and Matt Capps got his 6th save after he pitched a perfect ninth. Jack Wilson was the star at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a RBI single in the first and his 4th home run in the 4th inning that turned out to be the game winner. The Pirates are now 32-44.

Ex-Mlb closer Rod Beck dead at 38

Rod Beck was found dead in his home on Saturday. There is no sign of foul play police say but his cause of death wont be revealed for a few days. Beck was a relief pitcher for 13 years, mostly as a closer. He played for the San Francisco Giants(1991-97), the Chicago Cubs(1998-99), Boston Red Sox(1999-2001), and the San Diego Padres(2003-04). He had 286 saves over his career, a 38-45 record, and a 3.30 ERA in 704 career ballgames. He had 48 saves for the Giants in 1993 and 51 saves for the Cubs in 1998. Many people will remember his handle-bar moustache from when he played.

Pirates swept by Angels

The Los Angeles Angels pulled out another extra inning win over the Pirates 4-3 in 10 innings, the two teams went to 11 innings on Friday. The win finished the sweep of the series for the Angels who are now 49-27 and have a big 8 game lead in the AL West. The Pirates on the other hand have now lost 5 straight and are 12 games out in the NL Central. They seem to be a better team than a lot of the other teams we have seen in the last 15 years but just cant put it together all at once.

Tom Gorzelanny started the game and gave up 3 runs in 6 innings pitched. He was set to take the loss until the Pirates came back to tie it in the 9th with some mistakes from the Angels closer(Rodriguez) and an RBI single by Xavier Nady. But the Angels won it in the 10th, Capps got the first batter Nathan Hayes to pop out to 3rd base. Then, Howie Kendrick hit a long double to the left field wall, Kendry Morales was intentionally walked, Capps got Gary Matthews Jr. to fly out to left, then Erick Aybar ended the game with a hit to right field to score Kendrick.

Pirates lose 10-1 to Angels

Ian Snell came back to the rotation after burning his fingers and missing his last start. Ian got rocked in the second inning for 5 runs to take his fifth loss(6-5). Vlad Guerrero was the star for the Angels going 3 for 5 with 2 RBI's(68) and a home run(14) off Tony Armas Jr. Chone Figgins was also 3 for 5 with 1 RBI. The Pirates are now 11.5 games behind first place Milwaukee. The Bucs' record is 31-43.

Angels take down Pirates in 11 innings

The Los Angeles Angels came back from a 4-0 deficit to beat the Pirates 5-4 in 11 innings. Zach Duke started the game and pitched 5.1 innings with 1 earned run on 9 hits given up. The Pirates got out to a 4-0 lead after 3 innings, Jason Bay hit a 2 run homer(12) in the 3rd. Jonah Bayliss(4-3) got the loss after giving up a triple in the 11th inning to Chone Figgins then Orlando Cabrera singled Figgins in for the game winning RBI. The Pirates are now 31-42.