I can’t imagine the pitching can get much worse. The Brewers jumped on Zach Duke early for four runs. After the Pirates offense showed some life and scored six runs, Duke couldn’t hold the lead. Denny Bautista was also clobbered in relief and actually took the loss after giving up four runs in the fourth inning.

Duke went 2-1/3 and gave up four earned runs. Bautista pitched one inning and gave up four earned runs. It looked okay early on because Jeff Suppan was also hit hard early. He lasted three innings and gave up six runs. Both Jason Bay and Adam LaRoche hit homers. Nate McLouth poked a three run double.

The Brewers offense was overwhelming. J.J. Hardy blasted two homers and added a double. The Beer Makers combined for nine doubles and three homers among their sixteen knocks. Hardy drove in four and Bill Hall drove in five. A guy sitting on a stool at the corner bar was summoned to pinch hit in the 9th and he also hit a double.

Mitch Stetter got the win in relief.

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Paul Maholm walked just one batter in eight innings. Tyler Yates walked the first hitter he saw and that baserunner scored the winning run.

Maholm and David Bush matched up and both allowed just one run in eight innings. Maholm gave up four hits - one of which was a solo homer by Mike Cameron - and one walk while whiffing six. Bush did him one better. He allowed four hits, whiffed seven and walked none.

Two of the Pirates five hits were doubles in the fifth from Adam LaRoche and Jose Bautista that knotted the score at one.

The Brewers wasted a chance in the 8th. Bill Hall doubled, but was caught in a rundown when Jason Kendall bounced to Jack Wilson. Hall was retired and Jose Bautista fired to first where LaRoche tagged out Kendall who had strayed too far off the bag.

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Bill Hall has been in a season long slump. He had his first three hit game in over a month and his first three RBI game in over two months. Ben Sheets didn’t look great but was more than adequate.

Hall provided all the offense the Brewers would need with a two run homer in the second. He also drove in a run in the decisive five run fifth inning that busted the game wide open. J.J. Hardy started the fifth inning barrage with a two run dinger. He has hit in 16 straight games.

Tom Gorzelanny was hit like a slow pitch softball pitcher. He didn’t make it out of the fifth inning. The Beer Makers had eleven hits and four walks to score eight runs (seven earned). Sheets went 5-2/3 and gave up eight hits and a run. Four of those hits were doubles, yet the Pirates were unable to put together a big inning. Carlos Villanueva tossed 3-1/3 IP of strong relief to get his second career save.

Hitting out of the lead off spot for the fifth time all year, Jack Wilson collected a pair of hits. Chris Gomez played second base and hit ninth. Seems like Jack should be spending time near the top of the order (he is hitting .356 when hitting second) and Freddy Sanchez should be dropped lower. Sanchez is hitting .250 out of the lead off position and just .221 hitting second.

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In the third inning, Jack Wilson singled to lead off the inning. After a Nate McLouth fly out, a pitch to Freddy Sanchez bounced in front of the plate. Jack immediately broke for second, but catcher David Ross had picked the ball cleanly. He was easily thrown out. That hurts, but it is hard to fault Jack on the play. He has always been aggressive on those types of plays, and often gets an extra base out of the situation. This past Sunday, he moved himself into scoring position on a similar play, and eventually scored a crucial run because of it. This is comparable to a base runner stealing on a pitcher’s first move. Sometimes you get burned. We will return later to Jack’s adventures on the base paths.

In the sixth, Ryan Doumit was on second and Jason Bay was at third with nobody out. Adam LaRoche drove a double to the center field warning track, apparently scoring two. But Doumit misread the ball and was heading back to second when it landed. As a result, he was unable to score. Still not satisfied, he took a wide turn at third and was tagged out trying to get back. Fortunately, third base umpire Chad Fairchild was out of position and missed the call. Doumit was lucky to score on a sacrifice fly.

In the seventh, with runners at first and second and nobody out, Freddy squared to bunt. I would have let him swing away, but the decision did not upset me. Freddy has struggled all year, and I was not very confident that he could reach base. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful, failing to lay down the bunt before reaching two strikes. As the next pitch was delivered, Freddy squared and stabbed at the ball. It rolled harmlessly outside the first base line. My eyes shot to the top of the screen. Maybe I was confused. Nope. Freddy had just attempted a sacrifice bunt with two strikes. I was stunned. After a loud expletive slipped out of my mouth, I stared at the screen in silence. The camera focused on the Pirates’ dugout, possibly searching for the same explanation the viewers sought. Sanchez and John Russell never appeared to discuss the incident. All seemed to be fine in the world of Pirates baseball.

In the ninth inning, Chris Gomez led off with a single. Jack immediately squared to move him to second. He got the bunt down, but it was too hard, and Gomez was forced at second. After wasting one out with one of the hottest bats on the team, the Pirates searched for more. Jack broke for second on the pitch, but McLouth somehow was able to halt the play by asking for time. After Wilson returned to first, Russell chose to stick with the steal/hit-and-run. Maybe he was over-thinking with the simple mind of Dusty Baker in the other dugout. The Reds pitched out, and Jack was thrown out by ten feet. Just another out handed to the Reds.

Again in the 11th, Jack came to the plate with a man on base. This time, Russell let him swing away. As a result, the Pirates managed to score two runs and consequently win the game. After the game, Russell seemed shocked that the strategy was successful.

I have mentioned that I can look past Russell’s poor tactical decisions as long as he keeps the players focused and motivated. Some nights, that is more difficult than others. Especially when the players seem eager to give away outs as well.

There is no word at this point as to who will replace Capps on the roster. John Russell said that he will use a bullpen by committee approach. This leaves the bullpen in major trouble. There is a good chance that this will dissuade the front office from considering trades for John Grabow and Damaso Marte.

The Pirates and Reds combined for six home runs. Neither starter was very effective. John Russell should be credited with the move of the game. He pulled John Van Benschoten with one gone in the third after Van Benschoten had given up five runs and three homers. Russell did this despite a pitching staff that was already plagued with issues and got more bad news - Matt Capps was put on the DL.

Dusty Baker left Daryl Thompson in for 5-1/3 innings and he was hit for seven runs.

The Pirates gave JVB a four run first inning to work with four consecutive hits that was followed by two straight RBI groundouts. By the end of the second, the Pirates were down. Jay Bruce had hit two homers and driven in four and Adam Dunn had also homered.

After Van Benschoten was pulled, Xavier Nady homered in consecutive at bats to put the Pirates up 7-5. That was all that was needed, but the Bucs tacked on two late runs. Adam LaRoche tripled home one run and Jose Bautista added a solo jack.

Denny Bautista showed no ill effects from being hit in the arm earlier this week. He was the first man out of the bullpen and he tossed 3-1/3 innings of scoreless ball to pick up the win. Overall the bullpen tossed 6-2/3 innings of two hit ball.

LaRoche had his third straight multi-hit night - it is July after all. With three more hits and three more RBI, Nady continued to make his All-Star case.

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Obviously, the offense has outperformed most expectations. Due to the additions of Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit to the lineup, along with the revival of Jason Bay, the Pirates have scored the eighth most runs in baseball. After ranking 23rd in 2007, that is an encouraging improvement. But they are 25th in on-base percentage and 21st in slugging. Unless those numbers improve, do not expect the runs to continue scoring at this pace.

The pitching has been abysmal. The team is 26th in ERA, 26th in WHIP, 13th in walks allowed, 25th in strikeouts, 27th in OPS against, and 23rd in home runs allowed. The pitching needs to get healthy and perform much better for the Pirates to expect success in the second half. Defensively, the team is average to below average virtually everywhere on the diamond.

None of this bodes well for the second half of the season. But the biggest issue the team will face is the prospect of losing critical players in trades this month. The outfield has mostly carried the team thus far. How will the team look if Bay and Nady are dealt? Here is an even more frightening thought. What will happen if Damaso Marte and/or John Grabow are sent packing? The 2008 bullpen has been a rollercoaster as it is. Imagine what it would look like if we lost two of our top two relievers. Scary. It may happen.

I have mentioned before that we should not focus too much on the 2008 season. This team is better than some that we have seen in recent years. However, despite hovering near .500 earlier in the season, the Pirates just do not currently have the talent to compete. Enjoy the rest of the season, and hope that the Bucs keep things interesting into September. Just keep your expectations realistic.

Somewhere in the Romulo Sanchez‘ hometown in Venezuela, they are celebrating the big right hander’s first career save. It didn’t come without some drama.

The Pirates led the Reds 3-1 in the 8th when Brandon Phillips tied it with a two run homer off of Damaso Marte. It appeared the Pirates had won it in the 10th after Jason Michaels doubled hom Jason Bay. But for the second straight day, Matt Capps blew the save. After Adam Dunn doubled to lead off, Ken Griffey, Jr. drove a ball to the shadow of the deepest part of the outfield wall at GABP. Dunn advanced to third and came home when Phillips hit a chopper down the third base line past Jose Bautista.

The Pirates struck for two in the 11th. The Bucs went double (Xavier Nady), triple (Jack Wilson), single (Nate McLouth) to plate two off of losing pitcher David Weathers. That set the stage for Romulo. He gave up two singles and a walk to score one run, but got Corey Patterson to fly out to end the game.

Zach Duke was effective before tiring in the sixth. In six plus innings he gave up one run and six hits. He actually outpitched Edinson Volquez who gave up three runs in 5-1/3 on seven hits and three walks. I was driving home from Columbus tonight and caught the first couple of innings on 700 WLW out of Cincy. Jeff Brantley (sorely missed by me on Baseball Tonight, but loved by all in Cincinnati) noted that Duke’s delivery was different than it has been in years past. He said that he isn’t coming straight overhand like he used to. Anyone have any thoughts on that? That was news to me.

One of the runs scored off of Volquez was a bit of a gift. With runners on the corners, Adam LaRoche doubled (his second straight multi-hit game) and drove home Bay. The Reds threw behind Ryan Doumit who had strayed to far off third base. Edwin Encarnacion applied the tag to a quickly diving Doumit. However, third base ump Chad Fairchild missed the call and Doumit was safe. Encarnacion exploded and must’ve said the magic word before taking another breath, because he was tossed out of the game almost immediately. Doumit scored on a sac fly from Doug Mientkiewicz, making it 3-1.

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Pleasant Surprises

Ryan Doumit

Doumit has always had good offensive potential. The only question has been whether he could endure an injury-free season. While he has missed two chunks of time with finger and head injuries, he has hit phenomenally when in the lineup. With a .346/.391/.622 line, he has made a case for best hitting catcher in baseball. Despite accumulating only 169 plate appearances thus far, he has the fourth highest VORP among all Major League catchers. He will need to walk more to have any chance to sustain his extraordinary numbers, as his stats are driven quite a bit by his high batting average. But there is nothing wrong with your catcher sporting a .357 EQA at the midway point.

Phil Dumatrait

The Pirates’ starting rotation has been in shambles most of the season. Dumatrait, scooped up off the scrap heap this past offseason, got his opportunity when it became obvious that Matt Morris was finished. He did a great job of stabilizing the staff, posting a 4.66 ERA and 1.50 WHIP before hitting the disabled list with shoulder issues. Nothing too impressive about those numbers, but considering how bad the Pirates have pitched, he was a welcome sight in the rotation.

Disappointments

Ian Snell

Snell signed a new three-year contract extension in the offseason, and was expected to anchor the pitching staff. His poor performance has been a huge part of the team’s pitching woes this season. With a 5.99 ERA and 1.93 WHIP, Snell has been anything but reliable. His K/9 has decreased, his BB/9 has shot up, and opponents have posted an .885 OPS against him. He recently hit the DL with a sore elbow, so maybe some time off will improve his performance. It better, because the Pirates are desperate for a dramatic improvement from Snell.

Freddy Sanchez

Sanchez has been a bit overvalued the past few years, as nearly all of his value has been tied up in a high batting average. However, his plummet this season has been remarkable. After a strong second half in 2007, he finished with an OPS of .785. This season, he has arguably been the worst hitter in baseball. With a line of .233/.262/.320, he has been a huge hole in the Pirates’ lineup. It is possible that his sore shoulder has affected his hitting more than he has let on, but that is difficult to evaluate. He has only walked 12 times, something he needs to drastically improve upon.

It wasn’t supposed to end like this. Adam LaRoche had a three hit night - his second in the last week - and drove home three. Paul Maholm gave up just two runs on five hits and two walks in seven innings of solid effort.

But it was undone with one swing of the bat. David Ross hit a lead off double in the home half off the ninth. Griffey pinch hit and popped one over the wall in left center off Matt Capps to end it.

The sad/bad part of this is that the Pirates failed to add an insurance run in the 9th despite ample opportunity. Jose Bautista walked to lead off the inning. Jack Wilson was HBP. After a successful sacrifice from Freddy Sanchez moved the runners up, Jason Michaels whiffed. Jason Bay walked to load the bases. But Francisco Cordero induced an inning ending grounder from Ryan Doumit.

As Matt noted in the comments, Maholm hit 8th and Wilson was moved to the nine hole.

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