Santos, Williams (MLB.com)
1:15 PM, FSNP, KDKA
Victor Santos (0-1, 6.23) vs. Dave Williams (0-0).
Before anyone points out that the Bucs have at least been hitting well in spite of their current season-opening six-game losing streak, consider that they only scored nine runs in their three-game series against the Brewers. Most of their real scoring has come against the Reds - they scored five runs against the decent Aaron Harang and a few against the acceptable Brandon Claussen, but most of their runs have come against the Reds' bullpen, which just isn't very good. Any team can look like the Red Sox against these guys.
All of which is to say that if the Bucs continue to score against Dave Williams and the Reds' pen tomorrow, I wouldn't be inclined to attribute that to some sort of offensive awakening. Instead, I'd probably attribute a lot of that to Dave Williams and the Reds' pen. We're all familiar with Williams. He's a functional starter and a nice guy to have around, but ultimately, he's not great, and his flyball-pitching ways probably aren't going to play all that well in Cincinnati. It is nice to see the Bucs score a few runs sometimes, though, even when they have to depend on the likes of Victor Santos to prevent the other team from scoring a few more.
...Pirates win!