I went to the game again on Saturday. The Pirates at least played much better in this game than they did on Friday - fewer busted plays, and even some really nice defense from Chris Duffy - but they still couldn't muster any offense off Jake Peavy, who struck out 11 Bucs. (It didn't help that Jason Bay missed the game with some sort of stomach problem.) Zach Duke kept runs off the board, but, troublingly, he allowed five walks, four unintentional. Duke's recent resurgence has been due mostly to the fact that he's no longer walking people - before last night, he hadn't walked more than two in a start since August 5 - so let's hope this doesn't become a trend.
Trevor Hoffman tied the all-time saves record with a 1-2-3 ninth. I don't think much of saves as a statistic, but you've really got to be a great and durable reliever to pile up 478 saves. For those of you who have never been to a game in San Diego, the coolest thing about going to PETCO isn't the park itself or the fish tacos, but Hoffman's entrance, which surely is the most awesome in baseball. Right before he leaves the 'pen, the sound system plays church-bell sounds that are extremely loud and timbrally dark and rich and just generally apocalyptic sounding. Then Hoffman runs out to AC/DC's "Hells Bells." It sounds amazing, and the place goes nuts. Congratulations, Trevor. Bucs Dugout salutes you.