If you would have told me that Jeff Karstens would be the one to stop the Pirates first significant losing streak of 2010, I would not have believed it for a second. However, that's exactly what happened tonight. The Pirates were short on starting pitching arms so they made the call to bring up Karstens for the start tonight, hoping just to eat some innings.
No one was expecting Karstens to go 6.2 innings giving up only 2 earned runs on 6 hits. It was a very gutsy performance for Karstens, who had no clue he would be starting for the Pirates a few days ago. After his exit in the 7th inning, Joel Hanrahan came on to retire Ryan Braun and end a Brewers threat. Javier Lopez, Brendan Donnelly, and DJ Carrasco teamed up to pitch the final 2 innings of the game. They gave up 1 run, which was tagged on to Lopez (who gave up a Prince Fielder solo jack). Luckily for Lopez, the offense picked it up in the 9th and saved him from getting the loss.
The bullpen has been awful in this streak, but it really hasn't worried me. The main reason for that is because the Pirates really have not been in the ball games that they have been bad in. When your team is down 5 or more runs in the 6th or 7th inning, the intensity and urgency to get outs really is not there. While there is no excuse for performing beneath your ability just because the game is out of hand, I do believe that the performances would have been better if the games were closer. We will see how the bullpen responds now that the streak has ended.
The offense has shown signs of life the last couple games, and that continued tonight. Andy LaRoche had another 4 hit game, his season average now sits at a gorgeous even .400. Jeff Clement added 3 hits of his own, he has been swinging the bat well and has raised his average 62 points over the last 5 games. The biggest story of tonight's game was Ryan Doumit, whose 9th inning grand slam put the Pirates on top for good and lifted a huge weight off the team's shoulders. That was not all he did though, he also added a double and a single to notch his first 3 game hit of the year. It sure is good to see him hitting the ball.
I am very excited after tonight's victory. The team hit well and pitched well, and that is something we have not seen them do either of in over a week. The buccos got the weight of that losing streak off their back in a big way, and can now move forward and focus on winning without the burden of an elongated losing streak nagging them. Hopefully this will get the team some momentum and they can start playing better baseball. I am not predicting that the Pirates are going to go on a long winning streak or anything like that, but I would be surprised to see them get blown out much over the next couple weeks. I think they will be competitive and look like a lot better ball club now that this awful streak is over. Like I said, I'm not saying they are going to look like a really good team, but they will certainly be better than they hav been.
That prediction will be made a reality if Doumit and Clement keep their bats hot. There is a lot of power in those 2 guys, and they can definitely produce some important runs for the Bucs if they are going good. With Andy hitting the way he has been hitting and Garrett Jones continuing to draw walks and get on in front of them, they are going to have some runners on base to do some damage with. It should be very interesting watching tomorrow's game and then the 4-game set against the Dodgers.
I'm not entirely sure what the club is going to do with Karstens now that they do not need a starter for a little while, but I wouldn't be surprised if they kept him with the club. They DFA'd John Raynor yesterday, so there is a void on the bench which I expect to be filled with either Steve Pearce or Neil Walker, both of whom have been crushing the ball in AAA.
Keep a look out for those moves tomorrow and tune in to the game if you can. The pitching matchup is Paul Maholm vs. Chris Narveson, which looks favorable for us. First pitch at 1:05. Let's Go Bucs!
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