When you've got a doubleheader and you're starting Zach Duke and John Van Benschoten, you've got to be pretty happy winning just one.
In the first game, the mirage Duke is conjuring just got bigger, as he pitched six scoreless innings despite five walks and only three strikeouts. For the season, he's now pitched 49 innings, with 19 walks and just 16 strikeouts. As usual, he's doing a great job keeping the ball on the ground, and he has only allowed one homer, but 49 innings with just 16 strikeouts is a dog that just won't hunt, particularly with the Pirates' defense (which had four errors in the first game alone). Enjoy it while you can.
Less depressingly, Adam LaRoche added two homers to the .900 May OPS he had going into today. His April was just as putrid as last year's, but at least he seems to be waking up a bit more quickly. And Damaso Marte pitched two scoreless innings, so he's quietly allowed just one run in his last 11.1 innings.
There aren't many nice things to say about the second game, from the lineup (Luis Rivas, Doug Mientkiewicz and Ronny Paulino all started) to the defense (two more errors) to the starting pitching (Van Benschoten is bad, but we already knew that). The Pirates' record in games Paulino starts is 4-10. Just throwing that out there.