LIVE BLOG - Pirates @ Dodgers, Game 15
Last night's first live blog was fun for me to write...until the 5th inning. Then it got tedious, mainly because Matt Morris lost it and the Pirates seemed offensively stumped after Jose Bautista struck out with the bases loaded in the 1st. I know that's a little early in a game to pick out a turning point, but the Bucs didn't threaten to score multiple runs in an inning at any point after. The final score of last night's game ended up being 11-2. I shut the live blog down after the Pirates' half of the 6th inning and the score sitting at 8-1 Dodgers. Let's see if we can't last a little bit longer tonight (that's what she said).
Tonight we have Paul Maholm pitching for the Bucs against Brad "Where's my cooler?" Penny on the hill for L.A. Maholm has pitched relatively well this season, but he's given up big hits with men on base and hasn't got much offensive support behind him.
Quick shout-out to the Pittsburgh Penguins! Tonight, Sid and Co. completed the series sweep against the Ottawa Senators, avenging last year's first-round playoff defeat. The Pens will have to wait a few days to see who'll they'll be playing in the second round. Congrats to the Pens! They're looking like a very scary team at the moment and seem to have all the tools in place to make a run for Lord Stanley's Cup.
Crosby beats Martin Gerber for a goal in Game 3 of the Penguins/Senators first-round playoff series. The Penguins completed the sweep of Ottawa tonight, winning 3-1.
And now, on to the Buccos...
1st Inning (Top)
Nate Mac taps out weakly to Penny to start the game. Nomar Garciaparra is back in the lineup tonight for L.A. and Vin Scully seems very happy about this fact. I, however, am quite unhappy at the sight of the Pirates' lineup tonight, mainly because Brian Bixler is getting the start at SS. Sanchez grounds out to short, two down. Now Scully is saying that Jason Bay is the "whipping boy" in Pittsburgh. Not sure about that one, Vin. Bay grounds out to third and Garciappara gets some help on the throw at first from James Loney. Pirates 0, Dodgers 0
1st Inning (Bottom)
Speed demon Rafael Furcal catches the Bucs' infield napping by laying down a nice bunt single on the first pitch of the night from Maholm. Russell Martin follows by hitting a shot off Maholm's leg. The ball caroms into right field and Furcal moves to third. Well, that didn't take long...Matt Kemp singles sharply into left field, scoring Furcal. The play I'm about to describe is something that only a Pirates fan would consider normal: Jeff Kent hits an RBI single that scores Martin. On Nady's throw in from right field to second base, the Pirates get Kemp hung up in a rundown. Bixler throws to Bautista, who misses Kemp with the tag when Kemp literally lays down on the field. Bautista runs right past (and over) him, Kemp gets up and sprints to third, safe on the play. Unbe-fricken-lievable. Loney flies out to left, Kemp scores on the sacrifice. That was Bautista's fifth error of the year, by the way. Maholm doesn't have good velocity yet, but he just struck out Andruw Jones looking with a nice slider. Garciappara, in his first at-bat this season, walks on a questionable check-swing call. The Pirates' follies continue as Ronny Paulino lets a routine fastball pop out of his glove for a passed ball. Kent advances to third, Garciaparra to second. Juan Pierre executes a perfect drag bunt and beats Maholm to first, allowing Kent to score. Errors, passed balls, and walks, the Buccos' recipe for continual disaster. The sad part is, the Dodgers have hit one ball hard; Martin's line-drive off Maholm's leg. Finally, the inning is over as Maholm gets Penny to line out softly to Bixler. Dodgers 4, Pirates 0
2nd Inning (Top)
Penny's velocity is picking up so far in the 2nd. LaRoche flies out to Pierre in left. The Bucs finally get a little bit of a break as Nady's pop fly into shallow right falls between three Dodgers and Xavier ends up on second with a one-out double. Penny didn't break 90 on the gun in the 1st and he just hit 93 against Bautista. Apparently he shotgunned a couple of beers in the dugout during that long 1st inning. Bautista flies out harmlessly to right field, failing to redeem himself for that wretched error in the 1st. "Ron" Paulino, as Scully has been calling him, drills a single into fight, but Nady runs right through third base coach Tony Beasley's stop sign at third and is promptly thrown out by 10 feet. As Scully says, "The Pirates just make sooooo many mistakes." Hard to argue with you, Vin. Dodgers 4, Pirates 0
2nd Inning (Bottom)
Maybe I should put this live blogging thing to bed. Rafael Furcal deposits Maholm's first pitch of the 2nd about 15 rows deep down the left field line for a solo home run. Martin follows with a sharp single up the middle. At least it didn't hit Maholm in the other leg. Kemp flies out to Nady in right, one away. Looks like the bullpen is going to get called in early once again tonight...Kent rips a single to center, Martin to third. Loney's fly ball to center scores Martin and I see Franquelis "Crazy Eyes" Osoria warming up in the pen. I wish I would have caught what Scully just said...something about the Pope and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! Damn it! I can't believe I missed that gem. Maholm induces another sky-high Andruw Jones fly out and the Bucs are finally out of the inning. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
3rd Inning (Top)
Bixler leads off with a smooth swinging strikeout. I figure I might as well compliment him every time he fails...that makes it easier for me to stomach. Maholm is batting so I guess Franquelis will have to wait another half-inning before he comes in. Maholm goes down looking, two dead. Nate Mac grounds out to second base to end the inning. Penny is settling in to a nice drunk and a good pitching rhythm and that's certainly not good news for the Pirates on either count. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
3rd Inning (Bottom)
Garciaparra leads off with another sharp single, the Dodgers' ninth hit so far tonight. Pierre flies out to Bay in left, one out. Maholm decides to do Brad Penny's job for him as he balks Garciaparra over to second base and Penny can now hit away instead of bunting. Penny strikes out swinging, two away. Maholm, seemingly scared of what Rafael Furcal might do to him if he throws a strike, walks him to put runners on first and second. Martin grounds out to Bixler and Maholm actually records a scoreless inning. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
4th Inning (Top)
Sanchez grounds out to Garciaparra to start the inning, one away. Bay singles sharply to left field and mercifully ends another "whipping boy" story by Scully. I know Bay had a down year in 07, but I don't recall him being a "whipping boy" in the media or by fans. As usual, Scully has confused me. LaRoche lines out and Nady flies to the wall in right field to end the inning. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
4th Inning (Bottom)
Kemp leads off with a single to left, the Dodgers' 10th hit of the night. Kent grounds to the hole between short and third, Bixler makes a nice play to start a gorgeous 6-4-3 double play. Sanchez's turn was very quick and punctuated with a strong throw, a good sign that his surgically repaired right shoulder is getting back to normal. Loney flies out to Bay to end the inning and it seems Maholm has finally settled down after a very rocky start. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
5th Inning (Top)
Bautista, having a particularly horrible game and mired in the midst of a 2/20 slump, strikes out looking on a Penny curveball for the first out. Paulino whiffs on an off-speed pitch for out number two. Bixler grounds out to third to end the inning. The Pirates have mustered absolutely no offense since the Nady base-running gaffe in the 2nd. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
5th Inning (Bottom)
Andruw Jones lashes a single down the left field line, cut off nicely by Bay. The Dodgers have started every inning so far tonight with a base hit. Maholm gets Garciaparra to pop up to Sanchez, one gone. Pierre taps into a force play to Bixler for the second out, but Sanchez's relay throw isn't quick enough to get the speedy outfielder at first for the double play. Penny taps back to the mound and Maholm throws on to first for the third out. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
6th Inning (Top)
Nyjer Morgan on to pinch hit for Maholm and he grounds out meekly to second, one down. Final line on Maholm: 5 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 11 H, 2 BB, 2 K. Nate Mac singles sharply to center, upping his season-long hitting streak to 15 games. Sanchez follows with a line drive to Kemp in right for the second out. Bay hits a routine chopper to short, but Furcal fires the throw into the dirt and Loney can't come up with it, allowing Nate Mac to move to third and Bay to reach first. LaRoche follows with a bullet into right for an RBI single and the Pirates are on the board. Dodgers manager Joe Torre sprints from the dugout (yeah, right) and pulls Penny from the game. Final line on Penny: 5 2/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. Scott Proctor has taken the hill for the Dodgers and he'll face Nady who bats with Bay at third and LaRoche at first. Nady flies out again to right to end the inning, but at least the Pirates have cracked the scoresheet. Dodgers 6, Pirates 1
6th Inning (Bottom)
Nyjer Morgan stays in the game to play center, Nate Mac moves to right, and Franquelis "Crazy Eyes" Osoria is in the game to pitch for the Bucs. Furcal hits a ground ball up the middle that Sanchez flags down and fires to first, but LaRoche can't come up with it and Fucal is aboard with his third hit of the night. Scully just said that Osoria has a "sixth digit" on his right hand! They're trying to get a close-up of the extra finger...this is what HD is for, my friends. Show me that extra finger! I still haven't seen the "extra digit," but it doesn't stop Osoria from walking Martin on five pitches. Osoria and his extra finger induce Kemp to ground into a silky 6-4-3 double play. Surprisingly, Bixler has played well defensively tonight. I hope I haven't jinxed him, though I will surely blame him and him alone if he screws up from here on out. Kent grounds out to third for the final out of the inning and the Dodgers leave Martin at third. Dodgers 6, Pirates 1
7th Inning (Top)
Bautista is just awful at the plate right now. Proctor strikes him out and he's now 0/3 tonight, 0/13 in the series and 2 for his last 23 at the plate overall. Yuck. Paulino walks, the Pirates' first base on balls of the evening. Bixler hits a sharp grounder that Garciaparra can't handle and everyone is safe, an error on Nomar. Former Pirate Joe Beimel comes on in relief of Proctor and gets Nyjer Morgan to fly to Pierre for out number two. Beimel strikes out McLouth with some high cheese and the Pirates leave two men on base. Dodgers 6, Pirates 1
7th Inning (Bottom)
Loney singles to right and the Dodgers have led off every inning tonight with a hit. Osoria strikes out Andruw Jones with a nasty slider low and away for out number one. Scully just announced tonight's attendance: 53,629. Congrats, Dodgers fans. That's a lot of people to come out when the Pirates are in town. Garciaparra walks and Pierre follows with a weak double down the right filed line that somehow gets under LaRoche's glove to score another run. The Pirates bring the infield in to cut off any more runs and Osoria gets Chin-Iung Hu to ground out to S toanchez for the second out. Furcal chops an infield single, his fourth hit of the night, and knocks in yet another run. Martin flies out to center to end the inning, but not before the Dodgers do more damage. Dodgers 8, Pirates 1
8th Inning (Top)
Jonathan Broxton is on for L.A. Sanchez pops up to start the 8th, one out. Bay flies out to center, two gone. LaRoche walks. Doug Mientkiewicz pops up to third to end the inning. The Pirates have had chances tonight to score at least three, maybe four runs, but this game is all L.A. The Bucs just haven't had the offense, even hypothetically, to compete tonight. Dodgers 8, Pirates 1
8th Inning (Bottom)
Damaso Marte is on in relief for the Bucs. Scully is telling the story about Ozzie Guillen "sending Marte home for being late to the ballpark one day." Sheesh, is that the only tidbit Scully has for Marte? Anyway, Damaso starts the inning by striking out Kemp, the first time all night the Dodgers have failed to put the lead-off man on base. Marte sets down pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney looking with a nice fastball on the outside corner. Marte finally gets Loney to strike out swinging after a wild 11 pitch at-bat that featured seven foul balls. Marte's inning has been tonight's lone bright spot out of Pirates pitching as he strikes out the side.
9th Inning (Top)
The Dodgers have brought Takashi Saito into the game tonight for a little work even though the game is certainly not a save situation. Maybe Torre wants Saito to re-build his confidence a little bit after giving up Nate Mac's game-winning homer on Monday night. Bautista's average continues its free-fall as Jose grounds out gently to first base, one away. Paulino strikes out looking, two gone. And it comes down to this...Brian Bixler up with two outs in the 9th. Can he stave off certain defeat by prolonging it for at least one more batter? He does! Bixler drives a two-out double that short-hops the wall in centerfield! Well, good for him. He can't screw up all the time, right? Nyjer Morgan follows Bixler with a tapper to Saito and the game is over.
Final score: Dodgers 8, Pirates 1
Player of the Game: Rafael Furcal - 4/4, 2 R, 2 RBI
WP: Brad Penny, (2-2, 2.96 ERA)
LP: Paul Maholm, (0-2, 5.28 ERA)
One positive about tonight is this: I completed my first complete-game live blog. Yeah, that's about it. The Pirates played horribly in all facets of the game. They fielded like a junior high school team, they committed errors, a horrendous base-running mistake (Nady), a balk, and they couldn't hit to save their life. In all, losing two out of three to the Dodgers isn't the end of the world, but it easily could have been a sweep if not for Nate Mac's heroics on Monday night. The Pirates are now 7-8 on the young season and are flying to Chicago tonight for a huge series that starts Friday. Things have to improve everywhere if the Pirates are going to win a couple of games in Chicago, a must if they are to remain competitive in the NL Central come May 1st.
Tonight we have Paul Maholm pitching for the Bucs against Brad "Where's my cooler?" Penny on the hill for L.A. Maholm has pitched relatively well this season, but he's given up big hits with men on base and hasn't got much offensive support behind him.
Quick shout-out to the Pittsburgh Penguins! Tonight, Sid and Co. completed the series sweep against the Ottawa Senators, avenging last year's first-round playoff defeat. The Pens will have to wait a few days to see who'll they'll be playing in the second round. Congrats to the Pens! They're looking like a very scary team at the moment and seem to have all the tools in place to make a run for Lord Stanley's Cup.
Crosby beats Martin Gerber for a goal in Game 3 of the Penguins/Senators first-round playoff series. The Penguins completed the sweep of Ottawa tonight, winning 3-1.And now, on to the Buccos...
1st Inning (Top)
Nate Mac taps out weakly to Penny to start the game. Nomar Garciaparra is back in the lineup tonight for L.A. and Vin Scully seems very happy about this fact. I, however, am quite unhappy at the sight of the Pirates' lineup tonight, mainly because Brian Bixler is getting the start at SS. Sanchez grounds out to short, two down. Now Scully is saying that Jason Bay is the "whipping boy" in Pittsburgh. Not sure about that one, Vin. Bay grounds out to third and Garciappara gets some help on the throw at first from James Loney. Pirates 0, Dodgers 0
1st Inning (Bottom)
Speed demon Rafael Furcal catches the Bucs' infield napping by laying down a nice bunt single on the first pitch of the night from Maholm. Russell Martin follows by hitting a shot off Maholm's leg. The ball caroms into right field and Furcal moves to third. Well, that didn't take long...Matt Kemp singles sharply into left field, scoring Furcal. The play I'm about to describe is something that only a Pirates fan would consider normal: Jeff Kent hits an RBI single that scores Martin. On Nady's throw in from right field to second base, the Pirates get Kemp hung up in a rundown. Bixler throws to Bautista, who misses Kemp with the tag when Kemp literally lays down on the field. Bautista runs right past (and over) him, Kemp gets up and sprints to third, safe on the play. Unbe-fricken-lievable. Loney flies out to left, Kemp scores on the sacrifice. That was Bautista's fifth error of the year, by the way. Maholm doesn't have good velocity yet, but he just struck out Andruw Jones looking with a nice slider. Garciappara, in his first at-bat this season, walks on a questionable check-swing call. The Pirates' follies continue as Ronny Paulino lets a routine fastball pop out of his glove for a passed ball. Kent advances to third, Garciaparra to second. Juan Pierre executes a perfect drag bunt and beats Maholm to first, allowing Kent to score. Errors, passed balls, and walks, the Buccos' recipe for continual disaster. The sad part is, the Dodgers have hit one ball hard; Martin's line-drive off Maholm's leg. Finally, the inning is over as Maholm gets Penny to line out softly to Bixler. Dodgers 4, Pirates 0
2nd Inning (Top)
Penny's velocity is picking up so far in the 2nd. LaRoche flies out to Pierre in left. The Bucs finally get a little bit of a break as Nady's pop fly into shallow right falls between three Dodgers and Xavier ends up on second with a one-out double. Penny didn't break 90 on the gun in the 1st and he just hit 93 against Bautista. Apparently he shotgunned a couple of beers in the dugout during that long 1st inning. Bautista flies out harmlessly to right field, failing to redeem himself for that wretched error in the 1st. "Ron" Paulino, as Scully has been calling him, drills a single into fight, but Nady runs right through third base coach Tony Beasley's stop sign at third and is promptly thrown out by 10 feet. As Scully says, "The Pirates just make sooooo many mistakes." Hard to argue with you, Vin. Dodgers 4, Pirates 0
2nd Inning (Bottom)
Maybe I should put this live blogging thing to bed. Rafael Furcal deposits Maholm's first pitch of the 2nd about 15 rows deep down the left field line for a solo home run. Martin follows with a sharp single up the middle. At least it didn't hit Maholm in the other leg. Kemp flies out to Nady in right, one away. Looks like the bullpen is going to get called in early once again tonight...Kent rips a single to center, Martin to third. Loney's fly ball to center scores Martin and I see Franquelis "Crazy Eyes" Osoria warming up in the pen. I wish I would have caught what Scully just said...something about the Pope and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! Damn it! I can't believe I missed that gem. Maholm induces another sky-high Andruw Jones fly out and the Bucs are finally out of the inning. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
3rd Inning (Top)
Bixler leads off with a smooth swinging strikeout. I figure I might as well compliment him every time he fails...that makes it easier for me to stomach. Maholm is batting so I guess Franquelis will have to wait another half-inning before he comes in. Maholm goes down looking, two dead. Nate Mac grounds out to second base to end the inning. Penny is settling in to a nice drunk and a good pitching rhythm and that's certainly not good news for the Pirates on either count. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
3rd Inning (Bottom)
Garciaparra leads off with another sharp single, the Dodgers' ninth hit so far tonight. Pierre flies out to Bay in left, one out. Maholm decides to do Brad Penny's job for him as he balks Garciaparra over to second base and Penny can now hit away instead of bunting. Penny strikes out swinging, two away. Maholm, seemingly scared of what Rafael Furcal might do to him if he throws a strike, walks him to put runners on first and second. Martin grounds out to Bixler and Maholm actually records a scoreless inning. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
4th Inning (Top)
Sanchez grounds out to Garciaparra to start the inning, one away. Bay singles sharply to left field and mercifully ends another "whipping boy" story by Scully. I know Bay had a down year in 07, but I don't recall him being a "whipping boy" in the media or by fans. As usual, Scully has confused me. LaRoche lines out and Nady flies to the wall in right field to end the inning. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
4th Inning (Bottom)
Kemp leads off with a single to left, the Dodgers' 10th hit of the night. Kent grounds to the hole between short and third, Bixler makes a nice play to start a gorgeous 6-4-3 double play. Sanchez's turn was very quick and punctuated with a strong throw, a good sign that his surgically repaired right shoulder is getting back to normal. Loney flies out to Bay to end the inning and it seems Maholm has finally settled down after a very rocky start. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
5th Inning (Top)
Bautista, having a particularly horrible game and mired in the midst of a 2/20 slump, strikes out looking on a Penny curveball for the first out. Paulino whiffs on an off-speed pitch for out number two. Bixler grounds out to third to end the inning. The Pirates have mustered absolutely no offense since the Nady base-running gaffe in the 2nd. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
5th Inning (Bottom)
Andruw Jones lashes a single down the left field line, cut off nicely by Bay. The Dodgers have started every inning so far tonight with a base hit. Maholm gets Garciaparra to pop up to Sanchez, one gone. Pierre taps into a force play to Bixler for the second out, but Sanchez's relay throw isn't quick enough to get the speedy outfielder at first for the double play. Penny taps back to the mound and Maholm throws on to first for the third out. Dodgers 6, Pirates 0
6th Inning (Top)
Nyjer Morgan on to pinch hit for Maholm and he grounds out meekly to second, one down. Final line on Maholm: 5 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 11 H, 2 BB, 2 K. Nate Mac singles sharply to center, upping his season-long hitting streak to 15 games. Sanchez follows with a line drive to Kemp in right for the second out. Bay hits a routine chopper to short, but Furcal fires the throw into the dirt and Loney can't come up with it, allowing Nate Mac to move to third and Bay to reach first. LaRoche follows with a bullet into right for an RBI single and the Pirates are on the board. Dodgers manager Joe Torre sprints from the dugout (yeah, right) and pulls Penny from the game. Final line on Penny: 5 2/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. Scott Proctor has taken the hill for the Dodgers and he'll face Nady who bats with Bay at third and LaRoche at first. Nady flies out again to right to end the inning, but at least the Pirates have cracked the scoresheet. Dodgers 6, Pirates 1
6th Inning (Bottom)
Nyjer Morgan stays in the game to play center, Nate Mac moves to right, and Franquelis "Crazy Eyes" Osoria is in the game to pitch for the Bucs. Furcal hits a ground ball up the middle that Sanchez flags down and fires to first, but LaRoche can't come up with it and Fucal is aboard with his third hit of the night. Scully just said that Osoria has a "sixth digit" on his right hand! They're trying to get a close-up of the extra finger...this is what HD is for, my friends. Show me that extra finger! I still haven't seen the "extra digit," but it doesn't stop Osoria from walking Martin on five pitches. Osoria and his extra finger induce Kemp to ground into a silky 6-4-3 double play. Surprisingly, Bixler has played well defensively tonight. I hope I haven't jinxed him, though I will surely blame him and him alone if he screws up from here on out. Kent grounds out to third for the final out of the inning and the Dodgers leave Martin at third. Dodgers 6, Pirates 1
7th Inning (Top)
Bautista is just awful at the plate right now. Proctor strikes him out and he's now 0/3 tonight, 0/13 in the series and 2 for his last 23 at the plate overall. Yuck. Paulino walks, the Pirates' first base on balls of the evening. Bixler hits a sharp grounder that Garciaparra can't handle and everyone is safe, an error on Nomar. Former Pirate Joe Beimel comes on in relief of Proctor and gets Nyjer Morgan to fly to Pierre for out number two. Beimel strikes out McLouth with some high cheese and the Pirates leave two men on base. Dodgers 6, Pirates 1
7th Inning (Bottom)
Loney singles to right and the Dodgers have led off every inning tonight with a hit. Osoria strikes out Andruw Jones with a nasty slider low and away for out number one. Scully just announced tonight's attendance: 53,629. Congrats, Dodgers fans. That's a lot of people to come out when the Pirates are in town. Garciaparra walks and Pierre follows with a weak double down the right filed line that somehow gets under LaRoche's glove to score another run. The Pirates bring the infield in to cut off any more runs and Osoria gets Chin-Iung Hu to ground out to S toanchez for the second out. Furcal chops an infield single, his fourth hit of the night, and knocks in yet another run. Martin flies out to center to end the inning, but not before the Dodgers do more damage. Dodgers 8, Pirates 1
8th Inning (Top)
Jonathan Broxton is on for L.A. Sanchez pops up to start the 8th, one out. Bay flies out to center, two gone. LaRoche walks. Doug Mientkiewicz pops up to third to end the inning. The Pirates have had chances tonight to score at least three, maybe four runs, but this game is all L.A. The Bucs just haven't had the offense, even hypothetically, to compete tonight. Dodgers 8, Pirates 1
8th Inning (Bottom)
Damaso Marte is on in relief for the Bucs. Scully is telling the story about Ozzie Guillen "sending Marte home for being late to the ballpark one day." Sheesh, is that the only tidbit Scully has for Marte? Anyway, Damaso starts the inning by striking out Kemp, the first time all night the Dodgers have failed to put the lead-off man on base. Marte sets down pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney looking with a nice fastball on the outside corner. Marte finally gets Loney to strike out swinging after a wild 11 pitch at-bat that featured seven foul balls. Marte's inning has been tonight's lone bright spot out of Pirates pitching as he strikes out the side.
9th Inning (Top)
The Dodgers have brought Takashi Saito into the game tonight for a little work even though the game is certainly not a save situation. Maybe Torre wants Saito to re-build his confidence a little bit after giving up Nate Mac's game-winning homer on Monday night. Bautista's average continues its free-fall as Jose grounds out gently to first base, one away. Paulino strikes out looking, two gone. And it comes down to this...Brian Bixler up with two outs in the 9th. Can he stave off certain defeat by prolonging it for at least one more batter? He does! Bixler drives a two-out double that short-hops the wall in centerfield! Well, good for him. He can't screw up all the time, right? Nyjer Morgan follows Bixler with a tapper to Saito and the game is over.
Final score: Dodgers 8, Pirates 1
Player of the Game: Rafael Furcal - 4/4, 2 R, 2 RBI
WP: Brad Penny, (2-2, 2.96 ERA)
LP: Paul Maholm, (0-2, 5.28 ERA)
One positive about tonight is this: I completed my first complete-game live blog. Yeah, that's about it. The Pirates played horribly in all facets of the game. They fielded like a junior high school team, they committed errors, a horrendous base-running mistake (Nady), a balk, and they couldn't hit to save their life. In all, losing two out of three to the Dodgers isn't the end of the world, but it easily could have been a sweep if not for Nate Mac's heroics on Monday night. The Pirates are now 7-8 on the young season and are flying to Chicago tonight for a huge series that starts Friday. Things have to improve everywhere if the Pirates are going to win a couple of games in Chicago, a must if they are to remain competitive in the NL Central come May 1st.
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