Last few ST recaps

Sorry, I have been really busy with school lately, so I'll just do a couple quick summaries of the Philly games.

Pirates 5, Phillies 8
Neil Walker 3 for 4 with a walk, Cutch 2 for 5. Doubles by Overbay and Cutch. Ohlendorf went 4 innings, 7 hits, 6R/4ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR. He got the Loss. Michael Dubee and Jose Veras both had perfect innings in relief.

Pirates 4, Phillies 1
Jose Tabata 2 for 3, Jason Jaramillo 2 for 4. Doubles by Overbay, Diaz and Pearce. Pedro hit a home run. Charlie Morton pitched 5 innings, allowing only 1 unearned run, 1 hit, 2 walks, and struck out 2. Pirates pitching staff allowed only 2 hits to basically the Phillies' Opening Day lineup. This was a great win.

Opening Day is tomorrow.

Let's Go Bucs.

Recap: Can't Hang On. BUCS LOSE.

Pirates 3, Twins 4
This one seemed promising to start (I should probably never think that way again) when Tabata got a leadoff double that was put home by a couple sacs from Walker and Cutch. A few innings later, Steve Pearce doubled to score Walker, and Diaz singles to score Pearce. That would be it for the Bucco offense in the game, however, as only one more hit was recorded. The Twins slowly chipped away at the 3-0 lead, and finally put it away in the 9th with a walkoff single.

Jeff Karstens looked strong today, allowing just 5 hits and an unearned run, although he only pitched 4.2 innings. Garrett Olson had a scoreless 1.1 IP, Crotta allowed 1 ER in his 1 inning, and Resop was also scoreless in 1 IP. Things fell apart for Anthony Claggett, though, as he allowed 2 runs, including the winning run, to score in the 9th, pitching just 0.1 innings. His ERA is now 20.25.

This was the last game for the Pirates in Florida, as they will move up north for a pair of games with the Phillies in Citizens Bank Park before flying to Chicago for Opening Day. Tomorrow's game will be a 7 pm start and will be broadcast on 104.7 FM in Pittsburgh.

ST GAMEDAY 31: Twins

Tampa Bay Rays

March 28, 2011, 1:05 PM

Hammond County Stadium, Lee County, FL

TV: MLB Network
Radio: 970 AM
Streams: Here or Here (both require StreamTorrent)

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Weather Forecast

Mostly Cloudy, 77°; Wind SSW 10 mph

Pitching Matchup

Jeff Karstens (2-0, 2.57 ERA) vs. Francisco Liriano (1-1, 4.97 ERA)

Lineups

1. Jose Tabata, LF
2. Neil Walker, 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
4. Ryan Doumit, DH
5. Steve Pearce, 1B
6. Matt Diaz, RF
7. Ronny Cedeno, SS
8. Josh Rodriguez, 3B
9. Jason Jaramillo, C

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Jason Kubel, DH
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Michael Cuddyer, RF
8. Danny Valencia, 3B
9. Alexi Casilla, SS

Opening Day in 4 days. Let's Go Bucs.

Walk-off. BUCS WIN.

Rays 4, Pirates 5
Jose Tabata and Neil Walker both had a good day as Tabata went 2 for 5 with a homer and Walker went 2 for 3 with a triple. Pedro Alvarez also had a double. The game was tied in the bottom of the 9th, but Josh Rodriguez scored after Pedro Ciriaco reached on a throwing error.

On the mound, Paul Maholm was solid, pitching 5 innings with 3 ER, 5 Hits, and 1 walk, but he did allow 2 homers. He struck out 5. Joel Hanrahan returned to his normal form with 2 scoreless, hitless innings and striking out 3. Chris Leroux finished the job with two innings of work, earning a Blown Save and the Win with 3 Hits, 1 ER, 1 HR, 0 BB, and 3 Ks.

Up next is another 1 pm game at the Twins. It will be broadcast on MLB network, or for those without, on ESPN 970.

ST GAMEDAY 30: Rays

Tampa Bay Rays

March 27, 2011, 1:05 PM

McKechnie Field, Bradenton, FL

TV: None
Radio: 104.7 FM

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Weather Forecast

Partly Cloudy, 84°; Wind SSW 12 mph

Pitching Matchup

Paul Maholm (0-3, 4.50 ERA) vs. David Price (2-0, 3.44 ERA)

Lineups

1. Jose Tabata, LF
2. Neil Walker, 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
5. Matt Diaz, RF
6. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
7. Ryan Doumit, C
8. Ronny Cedeno, SS
9. Paul Maholm, P

1. B.J. Upton, CF
2. Johnny Damon, LF
3. Evan Longoria, 3B
4. Kelly Shoppach, C
5. Ben Zobrist, RF
6. Sean Rodriguez, 2B
7. Dan Johnson, 1B
8. Elliot Johnson, DH
9. Reid Brignac, SS

Opening Day in 5 days. Let's Go Bucs.

Unlucky. BUCS LOSE.

Pirates 2, Yankees 4
Tabata and Cutch put on a show, but there wasn't much help behind them. Tabata went 2 for 4 with a triple, a walk, and a stolen base, while Cutch went 3 for 3 with a walk. A lot of lucky breaks for the Yankees today. The Pirates actually outhit the Yankees in this game, but couldn't string them together when they needed to.

Kevin Correia looked pretty solid in his last start before his Opening Day spot in Wrigley Field, other than a long bomb he gave up to Alex Rodriguez. He finished the game with 5 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB and 1 HR in addition to 5 Ks. Jose Veras looked good in 1 inning of relief.

Next up is yet another Tampa game at 1 pm in McKechnie. It will be broadcast on 104.7 FM in Pittsburgh.

ST GAMEDAY 29: Yankees

New York Yankees

March 26, 2011, 1:05 PM

George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, FL

TV: FSN-P
Radio: 104.7 FM

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Weather Forecast

Sunny, 80°; Wind WSW 9 mph

Pitching Matchup

Kevin Correia (1-2, 6.38 ERA) vs. Manny Banuelos (0-1, 1.86 ERA)

Lineups

1. Jose Tabata, LF
2. Neil Walker, 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
5. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
6. Garrett Jones, RF
7. Ronny Cedeno, SS
8. Jason Jaramillo, C
9. Kevin Correia, P

1. Brett Gardner, CF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Mark Teixera, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Nick Swisher, RF
6. Jorge Posada, DH
7. Chris Dickerson, LF
8. Eduardo Nunez, 2B
9. Austin Romine, C

Let's Go Bucs.

Backup City. BUCS LOSE.

Pirates 5, Rays 9
Andy Marte went 2 for 3 with a double; Ryan Doumit also had a double.

Charlie Morton fell back down, allowing 5 runs, 5 hits, and 3 walks in 5 innings, inflating his ERA to 3.32. Joel Hanrahan got the Loss by allowing 2 ER and 2 BB in 1 inning of work, and Chris Resop added 2 more runs via 3 hits in his 1 IP.

Up next is an away game at 1pm against the Yankees which will be the last Pirates broadcast on FSN before it changes to ROOT Sports. It will also be available on FM 104.7 in Pittsburgh.

Walker, Pittsburgh Ranger. BUCS LOSE.

Pirates 7, Baltimore 11
Still can't beat Baltimore. 4 homers can't beat Baltimore. What the hell.

Neil Walker was a beast, going 4 for 4 and hitting 2 homers. Overbay and Josh Rodriguez also had home runs. No one else could do much of anything though.

Ross Ohlendorf is still not earning that pay raise. He pitched only 4.2 innings, allowing 6 runs (5 earned), 9 hits, 3 HRs, and 2 BBs. He struck out 4. Scott Olson allowed 3 runs and 2 walks in just 1 inning. Yikes.

Another Tampa road game up next, 1 pm start on ESPN 970 AM.

ST GAMEDAY 27: Orioles

Baltimore Orioles

March 24, 2011, 7:05 PM

Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota, FL

TV: None
Radio: 104.7 FM

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Weather Forecast

Partly Cloudy, 72°; Wind WSW 13 mph

Pitching Matchup

Ross Ohlendorf (0-3, 10.24 ERA) vs. Jake Arrieta (2-0, 5.40 ERA)

Lineups

1. Andrew McCutchen, CF
2. Jose Tabata, LF
3. Lyle Overbay, 1B
4. Neil Walker, 2B
5. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
6. Garrett Jones, RF
7. Ronny Cedeno, SS
8. Chris Snyder, C
9. Ross Ohlendorf, P

1. Brian Roberts, 2B
2. Nick Markakis, RF
3. Derrik Lee, 1B
4. Vladimir Guerrero, DH
5. Luke Scott, LF
6. Felix Pie, CF
7. Mark Reynolds, 3B
8. Matt Wieters, C
9. J.J. Hardy, SS

Let's Go Bucs.

No Such Luck. BUCS LOSE.

Astros 10, Pirates 6
What is it about the Astros that make them play like World Series champions every time they play the Pirates? It is a mystery. One of these days the Bradenton fans will get to see a win, but that day was not today.

Anyway, Cutch and Pedro both had homers, and Cedeno, Walker and Pearce all had doubles. Cutch, Lyle Overbay, Doumit, and Cedeno all had 2 hits on the day. Doumit evened out an unusually productive day however by grounding out with the bases loaded. No idea how the Pirates are going to get anything of value for him.

Brian Burres, who before this game had a squeaky clean ERA of 0.00, raised it by 3.86 by allowing 6 ER, 10 Hits, and a HR in 5 innings of work. He struck out 2. Still haven't seen anything from Tyler Yates to indicate that he deserves a spot in the bullpen, but I guess you can say that about most of the pen this year with the exception of Meek, Hanrahan, and possibly Resop. I guess I just got too used to seeing good pitching in the late innings last year. I hope to be surprised, but I don't expect it.

Up next is yet another meeting with Baltimore (it seems like the Bucs have played them and Tampa at least 100 times this spring) in their building in Sarasota. This one is a night game (7 pm), and it will be broadcast on 104.7 FM in Pittsburgh.

ST GAMEDAY 26: Astros

Houston Astros

March 23, 2011, 1:05 PM

McKechnie Field, Bradenton, FL

TV: None
Radio: None

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Weather Forecast

Sunny, 80°; Wind SSW 8 mph

Pitching Matchup

Brian Burres (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. J.A. Happ (2-1, 2.08 ERA)

Lineups

1. Jose Tabata, LF
2. Neil Walker, 2B
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
4. Lyle Overbay, 1B
5. Matt Diaz, RF
6. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
7. Ryan Doumit, C
8. Ronny Cedeno, SS
9. Brian Burres, P

1. Jason Bourgeois, CF
2. Angel Sanchez, SS
3. Hunter Pence, RF
4. Jason Michaels, LF
5. Brett Wallace, 1B
6. Chris Johnson, 3B
7. Humberto Quintero, C
8. Anderson Hernandez, 2B
9. J.A. Happ, P

Let's Go Bucs.

Recap: Distinct Lack of Hitting. BUCS LOSE.

Twins 4, Pirates 1
No clue as to why the Pirates are decent on the road (6-5) but horrible at home (4-10).

Neil Walker with a double. Yep.

Paul Maholm allowed 9 hits, but only 2 runs, so I guess that's something. He struck out 5.

Anthony Claggett has an awesome name but a bad outing.

Up next is an off day and then another home game with the Astros at the same bat time. Hopefully the Bradenton crowd will actually get to witness a win.

Recap: Great Stuff. BUCS WIN

Pirates 3, Astros 1

Charlie Morton.

Steve Pearce was 2 for 4, Fields had a double, Doumit had a triple, and Cedeno hit a homer.

Benji Gonzalez had all 4 errors for the Pirates. Wow.

Twins up next in McKechnie. 1pm as usual.

ST GAMEDAY 24: Astros

Houston Astros (Split Squad)

March 20, 2011, 1:05 PM

Osceola County Stadium, Kissimmee, FL

TV: None
Radio: 104.7 FM

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Weather Forecast

Mostly Sunny, 80°; Wind ENE 15 mph

Pitching Matchup

Charlie Morton (0-0, 2.25 ERA) vs. Ryan Rowland-Smith (1-1, 6.00 ERA)

Lineups

1. Jose Tabata, CF
2. Steve Pearce, 3B
3. Neil Walker, 2B
4. Matt Diaz, RF
5. Andy Marte, 1B
6. Ryan Doumit, C
7. Josh Fields, LF
8. Ronny Cedeno, SS
9. Charlie Morton, P

1. Michael Bourn, CF
2. Anderson Hernandez, 2B
3. Hunter Pence, RF
4. Carlos Lee, 1B
5. Brian Bogusevic, LF
6. Matt Downs, SS
7. Oswaldo Navarro, 3B
8. Humberto Quintero, C
9. Ryan Rowland-Smith, P

Let's Go Bucs.

Recap: Correia Can Hit. BUCS WIN.

Red Sox 5, Pirates 7
Kevin Correia got into a bit of trouble in the 1st, allowing the first two Sox batters to get on with hits, but it was killed by a nice 4-6-3 double play and a groundout to short. In the bottom, things got off to a rocky start with a foul tip strikeout by Tabata. Neil Walker on base via a terrible throw by 1B Nate Spears. Cutch hits a long fly to the wall in left and Walker can't get back to the bag so it's a double play.

Better start to the 2nd for Correia as he Ks the first batter Cameron. But then McDonald gets on with a hit to right. Recovered nicely by another 4-6-3 DP to end the half. Overbay pops up a foul ball to 3B to start the bottom. Pedro strikes out swinging. Matt Diaz grounds out to 3B to end a 1-2-3 inning.

Some joke grounds out to short to start the 3rd. Stuck watching an interview with some marketing dude and the game is pushed to the side. Spears grounds out to 2B. Scutaro strikes out to end the half. Infield popup by Cedeno to start. Dusty Brown flies out to right. Correia with a nice base hit to right center. Tabata ends it with a ground out to 2B. Still have no clue what "The Healthplan" actually is. Probably a drug cartel in disguise.

More interviews with the Pirates marketing staff. Coming soon, interviews with their secretaries. Pedroia hits a single to center to start it. Saltalallamalamacchia strikes out. Joke-ilis strikes out too. Correia with unlimited strikes. Groundout to 3B to end it. Spears sucks some salami on a ground ball to 1B and Walker gets two bases. Cutch takes a walk. Lyle Overbay doubles to the wall in left center. 2-0. Pedro drills it to 2B and Overbay is tagged out at 3B. Diaz bloops one to center. Beckett nearly beans Cedeno. Cedeno flies out to center. Dusty Brown bangs one off Beckett's foot for an infield single. Red Sox falling apart as Correia singles to left and 3 runs score after a comedy of errors by Salty Ralph Macchio. 5-0. Tabata grounds out to end the big inning.

More marketing interviews. Is this really necessary? Correia walks the first batter. A single hops over Overbay's head. Big fly to right scores one for the Sox. 5-1. Another one gets by Overbay for a single. Correia looking tired. Huge double to left. 5-2. Neil Walker has nice grab on the dirt, but Overbay can't keep his foot on the bag. Tabata catches a fly and tries to throw out the runner at home, but no such luck. 5-3. Cutch finally ends it on a fly to center. Walker and Cutch both fly out. Overbay singles to right for his second hit of the game. Beckett is done for the game. Return of the marketing interviews. Pedro pops out to 2B.

Kevin Correia is done for the game. Hanrahan comes in and gives up a hit to Cameron. McDonald keeps knocking off Brown's catcher's mask with his swing. He pops out to right center. Nava and Reddick strike out to end it. Diaz strikes out and Cedeno quickly pops it up to short.Dusty Brown grounds out to first and the inning is over just like that.

Justin Thomas comes in, walks Spears and gives up a double to Drew Sutton. He then throws a wild pitch and Spears scores. 5-4. He walks Salty Macchia. Rundown gets the runner at 3B out trying to score. Thomas finally escapes with a sliding catch by replacement RF Josh Fields. Jaramillo gets a weird infield and then Bowker slams one out of the park. 7-4. Pedro Ciriaco hits one off the wall in left for a double. Wimberly hits a low fly to center and Ciriaco can't advance. Andy Marte pops one up in the infield. Pearce flys out to center  to end it.

More fraking marketing interviews. The people that are watching spring training games are hardcore fans, you're not going to draw them in any more with giveaway offers. Nieve in for Thomas. McDonald grounds out to Pedro. Fly to left, Bowker with the catch. Reddick strikes out. 1-2-3. Josh Fields nearly kills Greg Brown in the radio booth with a foul ball, but then he strikes out. J-Rod pops up to short.Fernando Nieve comes up to bat and walks. Jaramillo almost sneaks one by the second basemen, but he is thrown out.

Nieve still in, he strikes out Spears. Sutton doubles to center. Butler walks. Infield Fly Rule for Gentile. One more out to go.Base hit though and Sutton scores. 7-5. Threat killed though by Steve Pearce as he catches a hopper and steps on third to end it. Raise it.

Recap: Late Collapse. BUCS LOSE.

Pirates 2, Phillies 3
Josh Rodriguez 2 for 3. Bowker double. Um.

Chris Leroux is not impress.

Up next is Boston in McKechnie at 1pm tomorrow, a game which will be broadcast on FSN Pittsburgh (soon to become Root Sports, whose name change is almost as stupid as the SciFi channel changing its moniker to SyFy).

Recap: 20 Hits? BUCS LOSE.

Orioles 13, Pirates 3
No clue what happened in this one. Pedro went 2 for 4 and had a double. That was the extent of highlights for the Pirates' offense.

Meanwhile, Ross Ohlendorf gave up 6 ER, 8 Hits, and 1 HR. Scott Olsen and Joe Beimel each gave up 3 runs in relief. Ugly day for Bucco pitching.

Um... no errors?

Whatever, so glad it's still spring. Kind of.

Son of Doug. BUCS LOSE.

Blue Jays 5, Pirates 3
Tabata and Cedeno 2 for 3, a double by McCutchen and a home run for Neil Walker, his second of the spring.

Not a great day for Paul Maholm, who allowed 4 ER, 5 Hits, 2 BB and 2 homers in 5 innings. He struck out 3.

Next up is Baltimore in McKechnie at 1 pm.

14 Hits, 2 Runs. BUCS LOSE.

Pirates 2, Orioles 8
Lots of hits, but few runs. So go the Pirates. Pedro Ciriaco, Cutch, Steve Pearce and Jason Jaramillo 2 for 3. 2 doubles by Pearce, one by Jaramillo and one from Bowker.

Kevin Correia had another bad day (Loss, 0-2) despite starting strong. Liking this signing less and less. Joe Beimel allowed 3 runs, but only 1 was Earned.

Off day today, then back to McKechnie tomorrow for the Jays.

Links

• Post-Gazette recap. [Colin Dunlop]
• AP recap. [Yahoo! Sports]

• Josh Rodriguez and the Rule 5 Draft. [Trib/Karen Price]
• Charlie Morton fights for a spot in the rotation. [Post-Gazette/Ron Musselman]
• 10 players are cut. [Trib/Rob Biertempfel]
• Zach Duke has a fractured hand. [Scoop Du Jour/Mark J. Miller]
• James McDonald will miss a start with injury. [Post-Gazette/Colin Dunlop]
• Danny Moskos will play in Indy this year. [MLB.com/Jenifer Langosch]
• Mitchell Page, the Cardinals' hitting coach and former Bucco draft pick has passed away. [Yahoo! Sports/William Browning]
• Alex Presley's goals in Indy. [MLB.com/Jenifer Langosch]
• Cutch's skills. [Trib/Rob Biertempfel]
• Tabata in the leadoff role. [Post-Gazette/Ron Musselman]