Post by Fish Troll on May 13, 2007 18:02:18 GMT -5
Pirates' bats come to life vs. Braves
Team enjoys season highs in runs and hits
By George Von Benko / Special to MLB.com
PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates got exactly what they needed from right-hander Ian Snell -- a quality start -- and coupled that with some offensive production in a 13-2 victory over the Braves on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park.
A Mother's Day crowd of 19,484 watched the Pirates snap their two-game losing streak as they produced their highest run total of the season.
"That was pretty nice," Pirates' manager Jim Tracy stated. "We had offense throughout the lineup, opportunities to score runs in a number of innings.
"We had a starting pitcher, in my opinion, [who had] the determination to go out and pitch today. It didn't start this morning. I looked down at him last night in the sixth or seventh inning and the look on his face strongly suggested that he couldn't wait to get out there today and do his thing. He gave us seven great innings."
Snell hurled seven innings and gave up two runs on seven hits. He notched seven strikeouts as he upped his record to 3-2.
"It felt good," Snell explained. "We've been on a losing streak and I just wanted to get our team back on track."
Braves starter Anthony Lerew lasted 3 2/3 innings and was roughed up for five runs on seven hits. He took the loss, falling to 0-1 on the season.
The Pirates jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Chris Duffy drew a leadoff walk and stole second base. Duffy scored on a RBI single by Freddy Sanchez.
Pittsburgh tallied again in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Jason Bay singled and scored on a double by Ryan Doumit, stretching the Pirates' lead to 2-0.
The Pirates knocked Lerew out of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ronny Paulino and Jack Wilson singled and both scored when Snell put down a sacrifice bunt that resulted in a throwing error by third baseman Pete Orr. Snell came around to score on Sanchez's second RBI single of the game, increasing the Pirates' lead to 5-0.
"We took very good at-bats today," Tracy said. "We hit strikes, we made them throw strikes and we got an opportunity to get into a bullpen against some middle relief, which hasn't happened for quite awhile. You'd like to think that this is the start of your offense heading in the direction and hopefully becoming what you think that it's capable of becoming."
The Braves nicked Snell for two runs in the top of the fifth inning. Kelly Johnson delivered a run-scoring single and Willie Harris stroked an RBI double to cut the Pittsburgh lead to 5-2.
The Pirates got on the board again in the sixth inning on consecutive singles by Duffy, Jose Bautista and Sanchez. It was the third RBI on the day for Sanchez. Bautista was thrown out at the plate by Harris while trying to score on a fly ball by Doumit. Bautista was injured on the play and left the game with a sprained left ankle.
"The first few at-bats I was able to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position, which is all I wanted to do. Try and get a run anyway we can and that's all I tried to do," Sanchez stated.
Paulino smacked a two-run single, lifting Pittsburgh to an 8-2 advantage.
The Bucs made it 11-2 in the eighth on a RBI double by Duffy and a two-run single by Bay.
Pittsburgh put the finishing touches on a productive afternoon with two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jack Wilson cracked an RBI single and Duffy had an RBI base hit to make it 13-2.
The Pirates pounded out a season-high 18 hits and released some of the pressure that had been building because of their offensive struggles.
"Hopefully this is not just a one-time thing and gets people started," Bay explained. "That's what we've been waiting for. It's definitely a big change from the way we had been swinging the bats, so it's nice.
"I think that's what we needed. It was kind of like, when was the breakout ... going to happen? Hopefully this was the coming-out party for the hitters."
George Von Benko is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Team enjoys season highs in runs and hits
By George Von Benko / Special to MLB.com
PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates got exactly what they needed from right-hander Ian Snell -- a quality start -- and coupled that with some offensive production in a 13-2 victory over the Braves on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park.
A Mother's Day crowd of 19,484 watched the Pirates snap their two-game losing streak as they produced their highest run total of the season.
"That was pretty nice," Pirates' manager Jim Tracy stated. "We had offense throughout the lineup, opportunities to score runs in a number of innings.
"We had a starting pitcher, in my opinion, [who had] the determination to go out and pitch today. It didn't start this morning. I looked down at him last night in the sixth or seventh inning and the look on his face strongly suggested that he couldn't wait to get out there today and do his thing. He gave us seven great innings."
Snell hurled seven innings and gave up two runs on seven hits. He notched seven strikeouts as he upped his record to 3-2.
"It felt good," Snell explained. "We've been on a losing streak and I just wanted to get our team back on track."
Braves starter Anthony Lerew lasted 3 2/3 innings and was roughed up for five runs on seven hits. He took the loss, falling to 0-1 on the season.
The Pirates jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Chris Duffy drew a leadoff walk and stole second base. Duffy scored on a RBI single by Freddy Sanchez.
Pittsburgh tallied again in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Jason Bay singled and scored on a double by Ryan Doumit, stretching the Pirates' lead to 2-0.
The Pirates knocked Lerew out of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ronny Paulino and Jack Wilson singled and both scored when Snell put down a sacrifice bunt that resulted in a throwing error by third baseman Pete Orr. Snell came around to score on Sanchez's second RBI single of the game, increasing the Pirates' lead to 5-0.
"We took very good at-bats today," Tracy said. "We hit strikes, we made them throw strikes and we got an opportunity to get into a bullpen against some middle relief, which hasn't happened for quite awhile. You'd like to think that this is the start of your offense heading in the direction and hopefully becoming what you think that it's capable of becoming."
The Braves nicked Snell for two runs in the top of the fifth inning. Kelly Johnson delivered a run-scoring single and Willie Harris stroked an RBI double to cut the Pittsburgh lead to 5-2.
The Pirates got on the board again in the sixth inning on consecutive singles by Duffy, Jose Bautista and Sanchez. It was the third RBI on the day for Sanchez. Bautista was thrown out at the plate by Harris while trying to score on a fly ball by Doumit. Bautista was injured on the play and left the game with a sprained left ankle.
"The first few at-bats I was able to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position, which is all I wanted to do. Try and get a run anyway we can and that's all I tried to do," Sanchez stated.
Paulino smacked a two-run single, lifting Pittsburgh to an 8-2 advantage.
The Bucs made it 11-2 in the eighth on a RBI double by Duffy and a two-run single by Bay.
Pittsburgh put the finishing touches on a productive afternoon with two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Jack Wilson cracked an RBI single and Duffy had an RBI base hit to make it 13-2.
The Pirates pounded out a season-high 18 hits and released some of the pressure that had been building because of their offensive struggles.
"Hopefully this is not just a one-time thing and gets people started," Bay explained. "That's what we've been waiting for. It's definitely a big change from the way we had been swinging the bats, so it's nice.
"I think that's what we needed. It was kind of like, when was the breakout ... going to happen? Hopefully this was the coming-out party for the hitters."
George Von Benko is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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