A series victory (25-48)

Wow. The Pirates looked real good tonight. James McDonald brings a weapon that the Pirates have been missing. Real good pitching. His strike out rate was down, but he got through 7 with a little over 100 pitches. No runs allowed is the most important stat. He was in a real jam in the 6th with the bases loaded and one out, but he got the 5-4-3 double play. Neil Walker has a fourteen game hitting streak. Garrett Jones got two hits, and Pedro Alvarez picked up the Game Winning RBI with a nasty double. Dwelvyn Young hit a monster blast pinch hitting and the Pirates five run 7th inning was enough to get the win.

The main concern on the night was coaching again. I think JR got lucky sending McDonald back out for the 7th inning. He was high in his pitch count and a perfect opportunity to pinch hit came up with one out in the bottom of the 6th. It paid off, but with a bevy of new arms in the bullpen why not go get one and use it. Also, I didn't like using Meek and Hanrahan in the 8th and 9th. These guys need to be the big arms next year, so don't tax them too much this year. With a five run lead, I would have gone with some of the new guys. Martinez, Bass, Jackson, or whomever. If it got tight, you could always still go get Meek and Hanrahan. I appreciate the win, but it is time to start factoring next year into the equation too.

Let us see if we can get the series sweep tomorrow. Hopefully a glimpse at some of the call ups too.