The Pirates are now at .500 after Ryan Doumit's eighth-inning three-run homer carried them to a 5-4 victory against the Astros on Sunday. I haven't seen a lot of freaking out about the .500 record here, which is probably smart. I didn't get to see the game, but just looking over the box score, James McDonald's eight-strikeout performance after a rough start to the season is a lot more encouraging to me than the record is. Adam Bittner has a good recap of the game at SB Nation Pittsburgh.
Also, Jameson Taillon pitched well in his third pro start, with five strikeouts, no walks, and one run allowed in five innings against Augusta. Matt Curry went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, a walk and five RBIs. Meanwhile, Kyle McPherson had an eight-strikeout, no-walk performance for Bradenton, increasing his totals for the season to a ridiculous 38 strikeouts and one walk in 42.2 innings. If that isn't dominance, I don't know what is. Altoona won 7-2 against Richmond, with Starling Marte and Jordy Mercer picking up three hits apiece. And Brad Lincoln picked up seven strikeouts in Indianapolis' 7-2 win over Norfolk. It was a really nice day throughout the organization, overall.