Erik Bedard started for the Pirates and struck out eleven batters. Seven of the strikeouts came in a row and Bedard became the first Pirate to strike out seven in a row since Brian Fisher did so in 1987. Bedard worked himself out of a huge, bases loaded, jam in the second inning and finished his outing allowing two runs over five innings. Jared Hughes, Juan Cruz and Jason Grilli all looked fantastic out of the bullpen only allowing one hit. Joel Hanrahan pitched the ninth and had some trouble closing the game out allowing one run and walking two. The pitching staff combined for seventeen team strikeouts, which is the first time since 1980 the Pirates have done that.
As I mentioned above, Pedro Alvarez hit another home run today. It was his seventh of the season and he is now tied for second in the National League in long balls, behind only Matt Kemp. Andrew McCutchen left the game in the fourth inning and we were told later he had a stomach flu. Clint Barmes played a nice role in the Pirates win today picking up two doubles and two RBIs. Alex Presley and Nate McLouth scrapped together the other two RBIs for the Pirates. Jose Tabata picked up three hits and Garrett Jones had a pair of hits as well, giving the Pirates thirteen total hits on the afternoon.
The Pirates open up a nine game homestand against the Cincinnati Reds tomorrow night.