The game didn't start off great, as Maholm gave up 2 runs in the first on three straight hits before he settled down and pounded out 7 innings to record his first win of the season.
That's quite enough about Maholm, let's talk about WOOD.
Wood lashed the ball today, driving it well in his first two at bats. His first at bat in a Pirates uniform ended with a long fly out, but his second one caused a splash. He took a low fastball and drove into deep right center field to drive in 2 runs and give the Pirates lead for good. He would score in that inning to get his 3rd run created of the game. After that he would reach on an error and ground out, making him 1/4 in his Pirate debut.
It was a great performance from the Pirates, and really shows you how much easier it is to win a game when you have a good pitching performance.
The road gets tougher for the Pirates as they try to improve their 3-6 home record against the San Francisco Giants. The starters for the Giants will be Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, and former Pirate Ryan Vogelsong. More on Vogelsong will certainly be coming as we approach his start, so check back for that.
Here's the updated offensive and starting pitching stats. The starters ERA has inflated to 5.02 and they are allowing 6 hits per outing, not very good numbers there. The offense is still struggling overall with a .239 average and scoring 3.7 runs per game. I have a feeling the offensive numbers will rise, but I can't make any promises for the pitching.
