Jeff Karstens got his 5th win of the year as he pitched 6.2 innings and gave up 3 earned runs while walking 3 and giving up 3 solo home runs. He didn't have his best stuff or control tonight but battled as he has all year and got enough run support to push his record above .500 and lower his season ERA to 2.66, you just can't say enough about how good Karstens has been.
The bullpen did another marvelous job and shut out the Red Sox for a second straight night. Daniel McCutchen came in in the 7th to try and get the last out but gave up a hit and then was lifted for Danny Moskos, who got the out the Pirates needed to escape the 7th. After that it was Tim Wood, Tony Watson, and Joel Hanrahan for the win. Hanrahan's hitless streak ended tonight as Dustin Pedroia doubled in the 9th (Hanrahan had retired 29 batters without giving up a hit), but he notched his 22nd save of the season and lowered his ERA to 1.24. Here's a video I took of the final out:
Watson's ERA is even better than that, as his scoreless inning lowered the number to 0.93 for him. This bullpen has been absolutely spectacular recently and is helping out their starters greatly.
The Pirates are playing fantastic baseball and are now just a game out of 2nd place in the National League Central. You can imagine that this team has taken a bunch of people by surprise, so I want to start gathering some reactions from the team's we beat. I'm going to take a look at what some of the opponent's bloggers write after the game and put it here. So here's the first installment, let me know if you like it:
Extra Bases - Red Sox Blog:
"Clint Hurdle has done a nice job in this series, using his bullpen to get six scoreless innings. He has his pitchers exploiting the thinned out Red Sox lineup by pitching around certain hitters."
Really? A "thinned out" lineup with Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez, and Kevin Youkilis all in it? That lineup would probably the best in the National League any day of the week. Get out of here. Also from this site:
"The post-game entertainment began prematurely early as fireworks went off as the operator must have thought right fielder Garrett Jones caught Pedroia's drive. Oops."
That's fine to say, except Garrett Jones wasn't in right field on the play, Xavier Paul was. I know the Pirates roster isn't full of notable names, but at least get the name right.
Over The Monster:
This blog spends a good amount of time whining about the Red Sox recent losing streak:
"I, for one, am tired. I'm tired of losing streaks. This is the third time the Red Sox have lost four or more this year. I'm tired of watching the Rays creep closer in the standings and of this see-saw for first with the Yankees. Right now, though, I'm most tired of watching the Sox put man after man on base, bringing a big-offense lineup to the National League, and somehow coming away with far less than they should."
Are you also tired of winning 60% of your games and having the best lineup in baseball along with one of the best pitching rotations as well? Good teams' fans/bloggers seem to have very, very little patience for losing. On a more positive note, this blog writes:
"Actually, I should amend. that, because the Red Sox were by-and-large outplayed today."
Fenway Faithful Report states that "Theo Epstein needs to acquire a right-handed hitter". Oh yeah? Your lineup NEEDS something else? This post says that Mike Cameron and Darnell McDonald "leave a lot to be desired". FYI Red Sox fans, you don't have to have sluggers at every position. Stop being greedy.
Okay, so I probably shouldn't make it a theme of just attacking other bloggers' for saying things I disagree with, and looking at a team in a situation that is pretty much the complete opposite of the Pirates situation is probably unfair as well. It's a lot different to be a fan of big-market team that competes for the playoffs every single year, and I can't say that I have ever been a fan of a team that is competing, so I may just be embarrassing myself with this post, but it's my blog and I'll do what I want with it.
At the end of the day, the jokes on the Red Sox, because they've just lost 2 in a row to a resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates team that is now 2 games over .500. I guess at the real end of the day, the jokes on us because the Red Sox have the 2nd best record in their league and are pretty much a lock for the playoffs, while the Pirates would be unbelievably fortunate to even be in contention in August/September. That said, I don't think there's a better team in the league to be a fan of right now.
Buccos go for the sweep tomorrow. James McDonald vs. Andrew Miller. Let's Go Bucs!