Bullpen Gets It Done: Pirates 4 Rockies 3

It was the first game of the year that I couldn't watch, and it was by far the best game of the year. This was one of those instant classic Pirate games. It would take at least a half hour to write a full recap of it, and I hardly have 5 minutes, so here's just the big notes, that I'm sure you already know:

• The bullpen did an almost unbelievable job. Ross Ohlendorf only made it through 2.2 innings before he had to leave the game with a shoulder injury (more information will be available on that tomorrow), which left the Pirates bullpen with quite a tough job to do. They responded in a way that nobody expected. Jeff Karstens went 3.1 scoreless innings and struck out 5. After that, Michael Crotta, Jose Veras, Joel Hanrahan, Chris Resop, and Garrett Olson pitched 8 scoreless innings. Three of those innings came from Resop and two from Olson. When all was said and done the Pirates had 15 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched.
• Ohlendorf wasn't good when he was in the game, giving up 3 hits in 2.2 innings including a 3-run home run to Jason Giambi. He hasn't looked good early on, but it's still very important for him to get back and be healthy this year.
• Jose Tabata had a big game, driving in 2 of the Pirates 4 runs. He hit a homered in the 5th inning and won the game for the Pirates in the 14th with a double (a rare walk-off double?).
• Other than Tabata, nobody did much of anything. Andrew McCutchen was 0/5, Lyle Overbay was 0/4, Matt Diaz and Garrett Jones combined to go 0/6, and Ronny Cedeno was a putrid 0/6. This game certainly did not do the Pirates team batting average any favors. Jason Jaramillo was a bright spot as well with 2 hits and the game-tying RBI in the 6th.
  

It was pretty incredible to see the Pirates win this game. They were down 3-0 after the first inning, and their starting pitcher left the game in the 3rd. You wouldn't expect any team to win the game in that situation, and you really wouldn't give the Pirates much of a chance at all in the past. The bullpen stepped up and Tabata put the team on his back for a bucco win.

Pirates will look to clinch their 3rd straight non-losing series tomorrow as they play the Rockies in game 3 of the 4 game set. Mr. Electric Stuff Charlie Morton will be back on the hill, so be sure to hit up the following twitter feeds for some hilarity: @mceffect, @rtjr, @northsidenotch, @fakecharmorton

Game's at 7:05, check back here for the liveblog and gameday.