Alvarez Homers, Pirates Lose | Phillies 7 Pirates 4

The Pittsburgh Pirates were outplayed for the 2nd straight night by the powerful Philadelphia Phillies in a case that showcased the debut Hunter Pence in Phillies red.

The "Mc" Effect was not working too well tonight, as James McDonald got hit around quite a bit and got his 5th loss of the season. J-Mick surrendered 5 earned runs on 10 hits in 5 innings and struck out 5. He surrendered two home runs, one to Ryan Howard and one to Jimmy Rollins. He had some pretty good stuff but misexecuted a couple pitches and the Phils made him pay. Michael McKenry didn't support my blog by going 0/4 with 4 strikeouts. Daniel McCutchen did his best to salvage the night by throwing a scoreless inning, but by that time it was too late.

The good news is that Pedro Alvarez hit his 3rd home run of the year and his first since returning from injury, a 2-run shot in the 4th inning. That's a very encouraging sign and hopefully it becomes a trend, that would do wonders for this offense (which now features Derrek Lee).

Andrew McCutchen had another 0/3 night and watches his average dip to .275, while Neil Walker had a 3 hit night and elevates his batting average to .277, now the highest of all regular players. Pedro Ciriaco had a couple hits from the leadoff position in his first major league start.

The Pirates will not have to see Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee pitch again this regular season, which is certainly relieving. It was disappointing that the Pirates couldn't get a better start from McDonald since they scored 4 runs in this one, but there just isn't all that much you can do with Philadelphia's offense. They are the front runner for the World Series by a long ways if you're asking me.

The Pirates will look to salvage a game tomorrow as they send Jeff Karstens to the mound to face Vance Worley in a 1:35 game. Derrek Lee will be with the team and probably in the starting lineup. Let's Go Bucs.