Pirates Avoid Sweep in 6-3 Win at St Louis

Thursday's series finale against the St Louis Cardinals did not start the way Clint Hurdle would have liked it. Rafael Furcal opened the game with a double down the line off Pirate pitcher Erik Bedard. Furcal would come around to score after back to back 2-out doubles to give the Cards a 2-0 first inning lead. After loading the bases in the bottom of the 2nd, Bedard was able to wiggle his way out of the early jam and strike out 7 consecutive batters on his way to 11 strikeouts on the afternoon. 

After a Pedro Alvarez single, Garrett Jones grounded into what should have been an inning ending double play in the 4th inning, but an errant throw by Cards first baseman Allen Craig would allow Alvarez to reach 2nd base with 2 outs. A clutch 2 out double by Clint Barmes would edge the Pirates closer at 2-1 as Alvarez would come around to score. Two innings later, still facing starter Jake Westbrook, Alvarez hammered a 3-2 fastball over the center field fence with Neil Walker on first base to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead. 

They never looked back. Alex Presley added another RBI in the 7th, Barmes an RBI double in the 8th, and Nate Mclouth even got on the board with an RBI single in the 9th. After the Cards added a single run in the 9th, Joel Hanrahan finished the job to give the Pirates a 6-3 victory avoiding the sweep. 

Bedard, who came into the game with a 1-4 record, was not sharp at the beginning of the ballgame. After getting out of the early 2nd inning jam, he would settle down and pitch the best 3 innings he's pitched all season for the Pirates. Striking out 11 batters, Bedard is beginning to look like the best of the Pirate offseason moves. With a record of 2-4 and an ERA of 2.65, Bedard has not given up more than 2 earned runs in any start this season. If he can stay healthy, there is plenty of upside in this offseason addition. 

There is no hitter in baseball that is as hot as Pedro Alvarez, minus MAYBE Matt Kemp. After going 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI, Alvarez is finally starting to look like the can't miss prospect we all thought he would be. Going to both sides of the field and avoiding the strikeout, 

Alvarez is on pace for a monster season and we can only hope he stays healthy all season. He did get some help today, as Jose Tabata broke out of a small slump to go 3-5 with a double and a run scored. Clint Barmes added 2 more RBI's on 2 doubles to bring his average up to .173 on the season. With a long stretch of home games in the near future, it's a good sign to see the bats finally start to heat up. 

GAME NOTES......... Andrew McCutchen left the game in the 5th inning with a stomach virus and should be ready to go for tomorrow's ballgame.... Pedro Alvarez is tied for 2nd in the NL with 7 home runs... Bedard set a team record by striking out 7 consecutive batters... The 17 strikeouts by Pirate pitching is the most in a 9 inning game since 1900....

Written by Rick Bauer