For the second game in a row, the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in their last at-bat to take two out of three from the five-time defending NL East champions before the home folks at PNC Park.
Last night, Alex Presley was the hero when he beat out an infield hit that allowed Michael McKenry to score the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
This afternoon, Andrew McCutchen drove in Josh Harrison from third with a one-out hit in the bottom of the 9th inning, as the Pirates came storming back after trailing, 4-1, entering the bottom of the 7th inning.
Much like last year, when the Pirates surprised baseball by staying in contention in the NL Central until late July, Pittsburgh got the job done over the weekend with great pitching from both their starters and relievers as well as with timely hitting.
Phillies ace Roy Halladay out-dueled the Pirates Erik Bedard, 1-0, in the season opener on Thursday afternoon. But Jeff Karstens matched the Phillies other ace, Cliff Lee, pitch-for-pitch last night and allowed the Pirates to stay in the game long-enough to win it in the 10th.
This afternoon, James Mcdonald hung in their with Vance Worley for most of the game and kept the Bucs in it long enough for them to rally late.
Despite the fact that Chase Utley and Ryan Howard missed the weekend series for Philadelphia with injuries, they still have a pretty formidable lineup, and it was pretty encouraging to see what the Pirates pitchers did over the weekend, holding the Phillies to six runs in the three game series.
Pirates gm Neal Huntington is obviously trying to rebuild through pitching much like the team did under previous general managers, but this time it appears to be working. Huntington acquired Bedard and AJ Burnett in the offseason. Karstens, Mcdonald and Charlie Morton were acquried in recent years through trades, and the team appears to have a wealth of young arms in the minors.
Jameson Taillon, Luis Heredia and Gerrit Cole are just three young pitching prospect in the minors who are giving Pirates fans hope for the future.
As for the offense? Well, it's a good thing the Pirates appear to have decent pitching all the way around because, much like last year, it looks like the team's offense is going to struggle on most nights.
I listen to a lot of talk radio, and the general sentiment over the weekend was, "hey, Halladay and Lee are two of the best in baseball, most lineups will struggle against them." That may be true, but let's face it, the Pirates are extremely deficient on offense. It is a BAD lineup.
McCutchen is clearly an all-star player, but he's not a power hitter, and the team is sorely lacking in that department.
The closest thing the team has to a legit power threat is Pedro Alvarez, and he's been struggling so much, he batted 7th today.
Second baseman Neil Walker, a nice young player, has been batting cleanup so far early in the year, but with only 12 home runs last year, he's no cleanup hitter. He's better suited to either hit higher or lower in the lineup, which is why it was encouraging to see Alavarez hit the team's first home run of the season today with an absolute bomb over the right field bleachers. If Pedro can eventually find his stroke and become the player the team thought he could be when they made him the second overall selection in the 2008 draft, he might be the piece of the puzzle that finally turns the team into a contender after so many years of bringing up the rear in the NL Central.
As for this season, I can see the Pirates getting off to a pretty decent start much like they did last year, but I don't think their pitching is quite good enough to make up for their very light-hitting lineup (I don't think any staff in the league could make up for it), and that's why I see them as a 70-win team again this year.
Still though, it was a great opening weekend, and anytime a Pittsburgh team can take two out of three from a Philadelphia squad, well, it makes for a great weekend.
Let's Go Bucs!
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