My apologies for the gamethread this evening - I was sitting in the Columbus Greyhound station this afternoon trying to publish it, and it looks like it didn't go through. Anyway, I got to watch most of the game back in Wheeling. James McDonald was a little wild and not particularly efficient, but his stuff looked good and he (and other Pirates pitchers) did a nice job exploiting the Diamondbacks' tendency to swing and miss at just about everything, but particularly pitches out of the zone. McDonald was visibly angry at himself for allowing D'Backs pitcher Barry Enright to deliver the hit that ended McDonald's 20-inning scoreless streak, but streaks are made to be broken, and McDonald's more pressing problem is that he needs to work deeper into games. (This is, however, a pretty good problem for a pitcher to have, certainly better than not throwing strikes or not being to get a batter to swing and miss, for example.)
The Pirates' hitters likewise did a nice job exploiting a bunch of Arizona pitchers who really just weren't very good. John Bowker went 3-for-4 with a homer (a liner to center) and a double, Andrew McCutchen homered as well, and Chris Snyder had three singles (all to left field). Diamondbacks pitchers, meanwhile, racked up seven walks.
-P- The Altoona Curve eliminated Trenton for the Eastern League championship tonight, thanks in part to a ten-strikeout start by Tony Watson.
-P- Jose Bautista hit his 49th (!!!) homer of the year tonight. When Bautista was traded two years ago, I would have bet that he wouldn't have 49 homers left in his career. Good for him.