A.J. Burnett came into Wednesday nights game against the St Louis Cardinals with a 1.38 ERA. After 2.2 innings he left with an ERA of 8.04. After allowing the first 3 batters to reach base, Carlos Beltran hammered one over the right field fence to put the Cards up 4-0 in the first. The Pirates cut the lead to 4-1 in the 2nd on a Clint Barmes double which scored Pedro Alvarez. But Burnett would allow 8 more runs in 1.2 innings including another home run from Carlos Beltran to put the Cards up 12-1 in the 3rd inning. With the offense stagnant most of the night, there was little chance for a Bucco rally.
The 12 earned runs allowed by Burnett is the most a Pirate starting pitcher has given up since 1932. Not the kind of night you would expect from your "ace." However it is just one ballgame, and the first two outings from Burnett were quite promising. With another strong outing for the bullpen allowing 0 ER over 5.1 innings, there is no need to start panicking yet.
Offensively the Pirates were held to 3 runs on 7 hits and never seemed to have anything going. However Pedro Alvarez kept his bat hot adding 2 more hits in 3 at bats, including a 4 pitch walk. An infield single in the first extended his hitting streak to 5 games, and he is batting .388 in his past 10 ballgames. Clint Barmes had his first RBI other than a HR, and Josh Harrison added to 2 RBI's to give the Pirates 19 runs in the past 3 ballgames. When trailing by 11 runs in the third, it's hard to expect the hitters to stay focused.
A FEW NOTES.... Clint Hurdle and Rod Barajas were both ejected after arguing with the home plate umpire... The Pirates fall to 10-14 on the season and 1-4 against St Louis this season... After not allowing more than 5 earned runs the first 18 games, the Pirates have allowed 22 runs in the past 2 games...
Erik Bedard (1-4 2.48 ERA) will face Jake Westbrook (3-1 1.30 ERA) in the final game of the series Thursday.
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