Dodgers Defeated By... Donald Veal? Jeff Karstens? Brandon Moss?

by Charlie on Sep 25, 2009 10:06 PM EDT Comment 16 comments

Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama talks with Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda (18) before throwing out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers in Pittsburgh Friday, Sept. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

4 months ago: Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama talks with Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda (18) before throwing out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers in Pittsburgh Friday, Sept. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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That the Pirates would win at all today seemed very unlikely even before considering the circumstances. But not only did they beat the first-place Dodgers, a team that usually destroys them, they did it with a ragtag bunch of pitchers. Jeff Karstens started and pitched well, but had to be pulled after a few innings, since he's just coming back from the DL and hasn't started in a while. That left a bunch of questionable guys to pitch more than half the game. Against all odds, though, things turned out fine.

The Pirates had a 3-1 lead by then thanks to a two-RBI bloop single by Brandon Moss, and they put in Donald Veal. That drew a series of groans from me--no matter how short-handed the bullpen might be, Veal is the absolute last guy you'd want in any winnable game. But after a bunch of wild fastballs and a quick visit from Joe Kerrigan, Veal started using more of his curveball, which today was borderline-unhittable and just plain great. He ended up striking out three batters, walking none, and allowing no earned runs in two innings. Steven Jackson, Jesse Chavez and Matt Capps took it from there, and the Bucs eked out a 3-1 victory. The Bucs benefited from some poor defensive play by the Dodgers, and from Matt Kemp getting himself picked off with Veal about to make a big mess in the fourth, but overall, some of the Pirates' worst players ended up looking great in this one.

A couple of links:

Alvarez, Owens Minor Players of Year
These were incredibly predictable picks, but now they're official: the Bucs named Pedro Alvarez and Rudy Owens their minor league hitter and pitcher of the year, respectively.

Could the Pirates Lose 110 Games in 2010? - Bucs Dugout
I did a big post right before the game on whether the Pirates could lose 110 next year, so be sure to check that out.

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Comments

Pirate pitchers don’t walk a batter. Sometimes that’s all you have to do.

by ElDuce on Sep 25, 2009 10:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Plus

a passable Vin Scully imitation by a slap-happy Greg Brown. Take what you can get these days.

by KPatrick on Sep 25, 2009 10:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

For one night...

we can ignore the 1-13 with RISP.

by Thunder on Sep 25, 2009 10:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

With the one hit being a not-exactly-spectacular bloop to left? Yeah, I guess we should just forget it. :)

by Charlie on Sep 25, 2009 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Any other Left field may have had it, Manny looked like he was jogging for a nice lazy fly ball.

by lfhlaw on Sep 26, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I enjoyed Veal’s interview on the postgame show when he said he was going to go home with his family and have his wife bake him a cake. “What kind of cake?” “Just like a birthday cake.”

by ElDuce on Sep 26, 2009 1:17 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs