Pirates 5, Reds 3

by Charlie Wilmoth on Aug 20, 2011 7:49 PM EDT

PITTSBURGH - AUGUST 20: Neil Walker #18 of the Pittsburgh Pirates attempts to turn the double play in front of Brandon Phillips #4 of the Cincinnati Reds during the game on August 20, 2011 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

The Pirates defeated the Reds 5-3 at PNC Saturday afternoon. Charlie Morton got through six innings without too much trouble, allowing RBI singles by Joey Votto in the first and sixth innings. He allowed seven hits, all singles, and two of those didn't leave the infield. He also got two double plays, including a big one in the sixth to get out of a jam.

He doesn't get the win, because Chris Resop entered with a 3-2 lead and allowed a single, then an RBI double by Ramon Hernandez. But Tony Watson made his return in relief of Resop and got three big outs to keep the score at 3-3, and then the Pirates picked up two runs in the bottom of the inning on a Neil Walker RBI single and a Brandon Wood double off Aroldis Chapman.

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good win

that is all

" Lord Stanley, scratch thier names on your fabled cup" Mike Lange june 12, 2009

by oldtimehockey09 on Aug 20, 2011 7:51 PM EDT reply actions

Wooo! Can't keep those Iowa guys down! Way to go Watson!

Great to be here for a Tony Watson win. And how about Tabata? Two walks and a hit. He was just excellent today. I sat on the right field wall and he waved at us before the start of the game. Jose Veras looked like his bad self for two hitters and then did a great job the three after that. And of course, Hanrahan did a good job putting the game away. Overall, totally makes up for last night’s overwhelming suck-fest.

So onto my love rocket, climb, Inside tank of fuel is not fuel, but love.

by IAPiratesFan on Aug 20, 2011 7:59 PM EDT reply actions

Also:

Tomorrow’s my last game here in Pittsburgh. If anyone wants to go to a game with me or has an extra ticket, let me know.

So onto my love rocket, climb, Inside tank of fuel is not fuel, but love.

by IAPiratesFan on Aug 20, 2011 8:00 PM EDT up reply actions

glad you saw a good game

Yinzers uber alles

by BostonBuc on Aug 21, 2011 6:52 AM EDT up reply actions

Good game

And I didn’t get to see it thanks to MLB’s moronic blackout policy.

Fuck Bud Selig!

by maguro on Aug 20, 2011 8:03 PM EDT reply actions

Langosch:

She said on twitter that Neil said it was his decision to lay down the bunt in the fourth inning, not Hurdle’s.

So onto my love rocket, climb, Inside tank of fuel is not fuel, but love.

by IAPiratesFan on Aug 20, 2011 8:22 PM EDT reply actions

Wow.

Should have been a double play. Hopefully that idea will never cross his mind again.

by Horace Clarke on Aug 20, 2011 8:50 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Yeah.

I sat next to this guy who basically asked why Hurdle would instruct him to do that. He’s one of the team’s best hitters, makes no sense at all.

I’m so glad that it was just Neil being stupid instead of Hurdle being stupid. Hopefully Neil had a good learning experience there.

So onto my love rocket, climb, Inside tank of fuel is not fuel, but love.

by IAPiratesFan on Aug 20, 2011 10:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Agree

It is simply stupid to deliberately attempt a play when the baserunners don’t have the heads up that you are doing it.

by Central*Scrutinizer on Aug 20, 2011 9:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Don't overthink, Neil !

Walker’s mentality in that situation should be “I’m bringing them in” and not “I’ll sacrifice them over”. When you’re one of the main bat in the lineup, you don’t take the bat out of your own hands.
(Hidden message to Hurdle : you don’t neither).

If he’d successfully advanced them, they’d have walked Ludwick, and we’d have had to hope Wood and/or Cedeno deliver. They did deliver latter in the game, but the .220 (Wood) and .255 (Cedeno) lightings rarely strike twice.

by From France on Aug 21, 2011 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions

Even if the Bucs are unable to reach .500

this season, it’s been a remarkable year so far. If someone had told me the Pirates would have 59 wins already despite a ton of injuries, no real production from Meek/Alverez/Overbay, and no .300 hitter in the regular lineup, I would have thought that person was insane.

If the Bucs split these next 38 games, that’s still 78 wins, which is an impressive 21 game improvement from 2010.

by SteelStealth on Aug 20, 2011 9:11 PM EDT reply actions

+21

Thats what she said! - Michael Gary Scott

by C Shint on Aug 20, 2011 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions

I think splitting is too optimistic for the most likely scenario.

Its possible, but not probable.

Should the Pirates keep Neal Huntington?

http://www.bucsdugout.com/2011/5/16/2174135/poll-should-huntington-be-retained

by Kosstic518 on Aug 21, 2011 8:28 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Ludwick

I was traveling and caught the game on radio. Sounded like Ludwick had some great AB’s-Saw a lot of pitches and got a key walk and hit. Did not think he should hit in front of Walker, but worked out well.

by NHpiratefan on Aug 20, 2011 9:42 PM EDT reply actions

yes he did,

two of the ab’s i saw were spectacular, 7 to 8 pitches, fould off after foul off. first one i saw was an rbi single second one was a walk after being down 0-2 i believe.

" Lord Stanley, scratch thier names on your fabled cup" Mike Lange june 12, 2009

by oldtimehockey09 on Aug 21, 2011 8:23 AM EDT up reply actions

votto is harder to pitch to than pujols

I’m making that call

by BlindSquirrel on Aug 20, 2011 10:16 PM EDT reply actions

Great to see Charlie

get his second wind this year. Speaks really well of his prospects for sustained success. Looked like he might be set to head down the tubes, especially after the Philly debacle. His introspection and thoughtfulness have perhaps been a liability to this point in his career, but in
the long run, he may emerge as a guy who really knows what he’s doing out there. That’s the sense I got after listening to David Todds interview, which was excellent. Charlies physical tools combined with understanding of his craft would be a killer combination.

by Horace Clarke on Aug 21, 2011 9:01 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

I love Karstens

because he knows exactly what he’s doing. I sat with group of scouts st PNC during RedSox series who were creing in their pants about how Karstens pitches. He’ll never have Charlie’s physical tools, however.

by Horace Clarke on Aug 21, 2011 9:06 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions