Blown. Bucs LOSE

	R	H	E	LOB
	6	10	1	1
	4	5	0	4

Can't believe Duke blew a 4 run lead.  Jones, Milledge, Cedeno, Crosby, and Doumit all went hitless. Walker went 2 for 4, raising his average to .333.  Andy LaRoche also went 2 for 4.  Other than the 2nd inning where the Bucs scored all 4 of their runs, none of them earned due to a 2-out, 2-base error with Zach Duke batting, this game sucked balls.  The Pirates went down in order in 6 separate innings.  Bullpen efficient as usual, the only real bright spot in this game.  If we could actually get some decent hitting our bullpen should be able to win the game on any given night.  Too tired to do a legit recap after the rain delay as I have to work in the morning.  Suffice it to say that after the 3-hour wait for the game to start it was a huge disappointment.

When it starts to rain, everything's the same. Bucs LOSE

	R	H	E	LOB
	3	7	1	5
	7	13	1	9

This was another one of those games where the outcome was determined after only a few innings.  After a rain delay pushed back the start of the game (still no postponements, not sure if that's a good thing or not),  The Braves scored 5 runs in the first 2 innings and after that you knew it was over.  A bad game for Zach Duke, earning all 7 runs the Braves scored, but poor play tends to be contagious and the Braves are a tough team to beat anyway.  Neil Walker continues to hit the ball well, going 2 for 4 and scoring a run and an RBI.  His average is up to .294 right now, not bad for a kid no one thought could do anything at the major league level a few years ago.  Garrett Jones also went 2 for 3 with an RBI.  The other RBI was hit by Andy LaRoche, who was the only pinch-hitter for the Bucs in this game.

Freshly called up pitcher Steven Jackson pitched well in relief for 1.6 innings, allowing just 1 hit and throwing 2 Ks.  Joel Hanrahan wrapped it up in the 8th with 2 Ks and no hits.

GAME.

It pours. Bucs LOSE

	R	H	E	LOB
	4	7	1	10
	2	9	1	14

Slightly better this time, but the result is the same.  A good pitching effort is wasted by a lack of offense by the Bucs, even if Milledge and Church both had 3 hits.  This game wasn't on TV for unknown reasons.  I was kind of hoping that the rain would postpone the game, but it was merely delayed.  The Bucs streak of no rain-outs this season continues.  Charlie Morton only gave up 3 (!) runs, 2 in the second and a solo homer in the 3rd.  The Bucs rallied a bit in the 4th, scoring 2 off a Lastings Milledge triple and a Ronny Cedeno sac, but couldn't get anything going the rest of the game.

Very weird 9th.  Hanrahan strikes out the first two batters, and then loads the bases on walks.  A wild pitch third strike allows the runner to reach first and score a run.  John Russell is not happy with the call, as the Ump claimed that Jones's foot was off the bag on the throw.  Russell gets ejected for only the 2nd or so time in his career.

Nothing doing in the bottom.

GAME.

Even Steven. Bucs WIN

	R	H	E	LOB
	3	7	0	9
	4	9	2	9

This game was ugly, no questions about it.  It started with a rain delay that pushed back the start of the game over an hour.  There was a Penguins playoff game going on at the same time, so it's impossible to say how the players looked since the game wasn't on TV.  The most surprising thing about the game is not that the Bucs won,  but that the attendance for the game was over 14 thousand.  For a cold, rainy day when another Pittsburgh team is playing a much more important game across town, that's pretty encouraging.

The game started off strong with the Pirates scoring 2 in the 1st off two sacs from Lasting Milledge and Garrett Jones.  Milledge had a huge game.

A bit of a scare in the 2nd as Andy LaRoche left the game with back spasms.  Bobby Crosby replaced him for the rest of the game.

The Bucs opened up a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd with an Aki Iwamura single which scored Bobby Crosby.  Yeah.  Two Crosbys scored in the same night for Pittsburgh teams.

Nothing much happened after that for a while.  Zach Duke was outstanding, allowing no more than 1 hit in any of his 7 (!) innings, and twice taking the Reds batters down in order.

Then the 8th happened.  Zach Duke walked some joke to start the inning and was promptly relieved.  Joel Hanrahan came in and walked a guy, but was able to get two outs.  Then he was relieved. Javier Lopez comes in.  He walks two more guys and the Reds were on the board, 3-1.  So Brendan Donnelly comes in.  He walks another guy.  3-2.  Finally a foul ball is caught to end the inning.  3 relievers, 5 walks.  So ugly.  Bucs go down in order in the bottom of the 8th.  You knew this lead wasn't safe.

Somehow the first Cincinnati batter gets a triple.  The usual drama for the Pirates closer Octavio Dotel.  He strikes out the next guy.  But then Cabrera kills the Duke's chance of going 3-0 with a sac.  Dotel strikes out the last guy and they go to the bottom of 9th tied at 3.  You might think FSN would put this on TV since the Pens coverage is over, but they're showing tennis or something.

Cedeno and Iwamura both strike out.  McCutch gets a single and then steals second.  That's stolen base #6.  So Lasting Milledge comes up to the plate.  He fell behind in the count 1-2.  Looks like we're heading to extra innings.  Then he takes two balls to make the count full.  He fouls one off.  Hold the phone.  He hits to game-winning walk-off single to score McCutch.  4-3.

GAME.

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Miscellaneous shit

The Bucs are back at .500.  The Reds fall to 5-6.

McCutch, Aki "Gun" Iwamura, and Cedeno all went 2-2 to lead the Bucs batting attack.

This was a pitching duel just like I thought it was going to be.  Both starters went 7 innings.  Leake walked 5, but only one led to a score (Andy LaRoche/Bobby Crosby PR in the 2nd).  Duke did end up with one Earned Run, but that was a result of the walk parade in the 8th.

Bucs look to win the series later today.