Homers Sink Pirates; Astros Win 6-3
by Charlie Wilmoth on Jul 8, 2010 1:55 AM EDT
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PrintDaniel McCutchen did what he does tonight, getting through five innings but allowing three jacks in the process. Brian Moehler left after three innings with a strained groin and the Astros brought in Gustavo Chacin. The Pirates immediately went to work on Chacin - their first four batters reached base, and they put up three runs to tie the score. But Houston brought in Casey Daigle in the following inning and the Pirates didn't really do much the rest of the game. The Astros won, 6-3, after yet another homer off D.J. Carrasco. I don't know what's sadder: that the Astros used three consecutive retreads in Moehler, Chacin and Daigle or that the Pirates could only get to one of them. Wait, yes I do.
-P- Weird game for Rudy Owens last night - he allowed 13 (!) hits in 4.1 innings but struck out six and walked none. Six of those hits were for extra bases. The B-Mets are a good hitting team, but beyond that I'm not sure any of this means anything. It's just strange to see the strikeout and walk numbers, which suggest he pitched well, alongside some other numbers that show the results were terrible. Oliver Perez used to have starts like that for the Pirates, although, of course, other than being left-handed, Owens isn't really similar to Perez in any way.
-P- You may note the presence of someone named Jordan Newton in Bradenton's box score last night. The Pirates signed him out of independent ball to play catcher, with both Tony Sanchez and Eric Fryer sidelined with facial injuries. Newton went 2-for-3 in his first game with the club, and the Marauders won, 6-4.
-P- Evan Chambers homered and Phillip Irwin pitched seven strong innings for West Virginia, which beat Hagerstown 7-2. Chambers is on a bit of a tear - he's on a six-game hitting streak that includes four multi-hit games. It would be great to see him bring his average up to .280 or so, because he'd be a very nice prospect if he could get it there.
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I like Chambers.
The concerns Charlie stated earlier in the year- that he was a high walk/high K guy without power, and they usually fizzle out in the high minors- was, and still is, a valid one. But he’s displaying more power the last few months and has improved his K rate from last year. There’s a chance he may develop into a high OBP player with a little power.
Any word on his chances of sticking in CF? If he can, obviously, his star’s a little brighter.
Definitely a player I’m keeping an eye on.
Unfortunately, the other way to interpret Owens’ line is that the K’s aren’t as impressive when you realize he faced so many batters. His K/9 looks good, but his K/batter does not. I wonder if the lack of walks and high hit total means that he was around the plate too much.
You never know with these independent league signees. The Red Sox have signed a bunch in recent years and some have turned out to be pretty helpful, such as Daniel Nava. Sometimes guys DO slip through the cracks, so he’s worth keeping an eye on. Looks like he put up some okay stats in the Detroit system, maybe his defense is worth watching.
Did anyone see Rudy Ownes start?
The 13 hits don’t bother if they were mainly grounders and bloops finding holes. If they were roping liners all over the field, then it might mean something.
I listened on the radio...
and there were about 4 bloop hits and 3-4 grounders that found holes (though at least one was hit hard). The other 5-6 hits were smashed from the announcer on the radio. Rudy is actually lucky if you can believe it because he was pulled with the bases loaded and one out when Moelken came in and struck out the side. It was funny because before the game the Altoona announcer had commented on how the knock on Owens is that control is too good; he never throws anyting outside of the strike zone. He said that the Pirates want him to use his plus command to throw the ball out of the strike zone more often. Apparently he failed last night.
Owen's start
I was there last night. They weren’t cheap hits. He was hit hard and often, but it was one of those nights. The B-Mets pitcher didn’t make it out of the 5th either. The Curve tied it after being down 5-0 but then lost in the 10th due to some sloppy bullpen work.
High Ks plus high extra-base hits...
…usually means that a guy was catching too much of the strike zone. Strikeouts when the batters miss, line drives when they don’t.
Don't know if it's a big surprise
or everybody already knew or it’s not even worth mentioning, but in the game summary on P-G, it mentions that Daniel McCutchen was optioned back to Class AAA Indianapolis immediately after the game.
The Pittsburgh Pirates or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Loss
DCutch should be at the All-Star Game
To pitch the Home Run Derby.
by maguro on Jul 8, 2010 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Keppinger
That may have been the longest homerun I’ve seen him hit.
He usually hits them 338 feet.
That looked like an Adam Dunn shot.
Keppinger
Didn’t Keppinger used to be in our farm system? Im pretty sure he was in Altoona about four or five years ago. Does anyone know if im right and how he left?
Pirates drafted him back in 2000 (I believe). I believe he was part of the Wigginton-Benson trade in 2004.
I made most of my life decisions at a Foghat concert... I stand by them.
by Chester J Lampwick on Jul 8, 2010 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions
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