josh harrison tagged posts

Sporting events with the final of 1-0 are usually reserved for soccer.  With the World Cup currently underway, it looked the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers were getting in the spirt of futbol when one run was all either of these teams could muster tonight.  Luckily the guys in black were the ones who collected that run to open this three-game series.

Both starting pitchers were fantastic tonight.  Trevor Williams worked seven strong innings for Pittsburgh allowing only one hit to go along with seven strikeouts and two walks.  Milwaukee starter Jhoulys Chacin worked 6.1 innings allowing one run on six hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

Chacin exited the game with runners on first and second when Josh Hader entered the game.  Hader would strike out Gregory Polanco before ...

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By winning games Friday and Saturday over the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates put themselves in prime position for a series sweep.  Unfortunately today, the Bucs fell behind early and couldn’t complete a late game comeback, as they fell to the Reds by a 8-6 score at PNC Park.

Neither starting pitcher made it out of the sixth inning this afternoon.  Joe Musgrove struggled this afternoon, giving up six runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings.  Anthony DeSclafani started for Cincinnati, giving up two runs on three hits in 5.2 innings.

The Pirates took the early lead on a solo homerun by Colin Moran in the second inning.  The Reds would respond with a pair of runs in the top of the third on a groundout by Scott Schebler and a single by Jose Peraza.

Cincinnati would take command of the ...

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It was exactly one month ago that the Pittsburgh Pirates season took an ugly turn.  Pittsburgh would lose to the San Diego Padres that night and then go on to lose 17 of their next 25 games.  Skids like that can definitely take a toll on team, but with over three months remaining in the season all hope has not been lost.  After ending their road trip on Wednesday with a win the Pirates looked to build on that tonight in game one of a ten game homestand.

They would come back to PNC Park to open a three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds.  Cincinnati may be the only Central Division team looking up at the Buccos at the moment, but they always play them tough.  That would be no different tonight, as after a back and forth game Pittsburgh would prevail with a 3-2 victory.

The Pirates ha...

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Nothing ever comes easy for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  After two ugly losses while most of us were asleep the past two nights, Pittsburgh squeaked out a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks today to wrap up this three-game series and six game road trip.

Early on things did not look good for the Pirates.  Arizona took a two-run lead when David Peralta hit a two-run homer off of Jameson Taillon.  Upon review the ball actually bounced out of Austin Meadow’s glove and then over the fence.  Taillon settled in after that to pitch seven innings allowing two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

The Buccos bats would come to life in the second to score four runs.  Josh Bell would get things started with a double to left that scored Colin Moran.  Jordy Mercer would then hi...

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It was another tough night for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  In the first game of this series on Monday night, the Bucs jumped out to a five run lead before losing it late.  Tonight, they fell behind by eight runs and their comeback rally fell short, as the D-Backs held on for a 13-8 victory.

Trevor Williams took the loss for Pittsburgh (5-4), no thanks to sloppy defense behind him.  He was tagged with eight runs (three earned) on six hits in just three innings of work.  After a solid start to the season, Williams, like the rest of this team, has fallen on hard times.

Arizona scored six runs in the first inning to put the Pirates in a huge hole.  A fielding error by Josh Bell allowed Jon Jay to score on a Jake Lamb ground ball.  A single by John Ryan Murph...

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It has been well documented on how rough things have been for the Pittsburgh Pirates for the past few weeks.  Today felt like the first time in a long time that they played a near perfect game as a team.  I say near perfect, because the defense committed two errors on the day.  A strong pitching performance by Ivan Nova and the bullpen, along with some clutch hits, gave Pittsburgh a much-needed victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Nova made his first start since coming off the DL with a finger injury.  He would pitch 5.2 innings allowing one run on four hits with eight strikeouts and two walks.  More outings from Nova like this is exactly what the Pirates need if they want to get back in playoff contention.

The bullpen was lights out today.  Edgar Santana worked 1...

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The Pittsburgh Pirates are reeling.  Today, after a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, the Bucs have lost 15 of their last 20 games and are a game under .500.

The Cubs, meanwhile, are a season high 12 games over .500, having won 10 of their last 12 games, while outscoring their opponents 60-32 in that span.

Mike Montgomery was outstanding on the mound for Chicago, giving up one run on seven hits in six innings of work.  Ian Happ made a trio of fantastic catches, including one to end the game, helping Pedro Strop earn his first save of the season.

Chad Kuhl fell to 4-4 on the season after giving up three runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings.  He struck out six batters while walking two, with his ERA sitting at 3.95 on the season.

The Pirates took the lead early with a run in the...

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After being shut out in back to back games and falling to the .500 mark, the Pittsburgh Pirates were in desperate need of a victory.  Tonight, the offense came alive as they won a crazy game over the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park by an 11-9 score.

This was not a good game for the pitching staff on either club.  The two teams used 14 pitchers combined.  Trevor Williams lasted just three innings, giving up four runs on four hits.  Steven Brault earned the victory (5-1) in relief, while Felipe Vazquez tallied his 11^th save of the season.

The Pirates took the lead in the bottom of the second on a bases loaded, three run double by Josh Harrison.  Starling Marte singled Harrison home later in the inning, and the Pirates led 4-0.

Los Angeles responded in the top of the third with four runs...

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The Pittsburgh Pirates entered tonight’s game against the Chicago Cubs in desperate need of a win.  Fortunately, Joe Musgrove was on the mound and picked up right where he left off in his last start, holding the Cubs’ hitters in check as the Pirates held on for a 2-1 victory at PNC Park.

Musgrove wasn’t as sharp as he was in his first start of the season, but still made the big pitches when he needed to in the crucial moments.  He gave up one run on seven hits with four walks and five strikeouts through seven innings.  Kyle Crick pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Felipe Vazquez made things a bit dramatic, but held on for his 10^th save of the season.

Kyle Hendricks started for Chicago and also wasn’t as sharp as he usually is, giving up two runs on seven hits in five innings...

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After a disappointing series in Cincinnati, the Pittsburgh Pirates returned home to PNC Park for the first of a three game weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals.  Joe Musgrove made his Pirates debut on the mound tonight, marking the first time to suit up since being dealt to Pittsburgh in the Gerrit Cole trade with the Houston Astros over the offseason.  Tonight, Musgrove tossed a gem, and the Pirates offense came alive, as they coasted to an 8-1 victory.

Musgrove was dominant tonight, needing just 67 pitches to make it through seven innings of shutout baseball.  He scattered five hits, striking out seven without walking a batter.  Michael Feliz gave up a run in the eighth and Kyle Crick pitched a scoreless ninth in relief.

This was a pitchers’ duel through the first five inni...

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