I'm way behind after going out last night, so this thread can function as both a recap of last night's game and a gamethread for tonight's (Vin Mazzaro vs. James McDonald, 7:15).
Last night, the Pirates scored four early runs against Luke Hochevar, setting up a 4-2 win and putting the Bucs at 30-27 for the season.
In the first inning, Neil Walker singled and Garrett Jones brought him home with a double off the wall in right-center.
In the second, Rod Barajas led off with a single and advanced on an error by Eric Hosmer, who was making his first career start in right field. Clint Barmes then singled, and the Pirates made a dubious decision to send Barajas home. The Royals' throw was offline but still was made in time to get the out, but Barajas made a preposterous but effective slide about four feet in front of the plate, then diving for the plate after Humberto Quintero missed him. Neil Walker then hit a single that bounced off Yuniesky Betancourt's glove, bringing home Barmes. 3-0 Pirates
In the top of the third, Betancourt hit an RBI double, and Mike Moustakas singled to bring him home and cut the lead to 3-2. But in the bottom of the inning, the Pirates furthered their lead with some smart baserunning by Pedro Alvarez (and some poor defense by the Royals). Alvarez doubled, then advanced to third on Jose Tabata's infield single. Tabata got picked off stealing second, but the Royals lost track of Alvarez on the rundown, and he came home easily.
Erik Bedard went seven innings, striking out five and walking three. Jason Grilli and Joel Hanrahan pitched scoreless innings to complete the win.
UPDATE from David: In his pregame press conference Clint Hurdle indicated that Jeff Karstens will be down for 5-7 days but will throw on flat ground to maintain his arm strength. Brad Lincoln will get the start in Baltimore on Tuesday.
Alex Presley LF
Neil Walker 2B
Andrew McCutchen CF
Garrett Jones 1B
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Jose Tabata RF
Rod Barajas C
Clint Barmes SS
James McDonald P
Alex Gordon LF
Yuniesky Betancourt 2B
Billy Butler 1B
Mike Moustakas 3B
Jeff Francoeur CF
Eric Hosmer RF
Brayan Pena C
Alcides Escobar SS
Vin Mazzaro P