The Pittsburgh Pirates went from the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows in under 48 hours. After an unreal night at PNC Park Tuesday night they kicked off the National League Division series Thursday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis showed why they won the division with a convincing 9-1 victory at Busch Stadium.
The first two innings were pretty even for both ball clubs, but the third inning saw the Cardinals jump out to a 7-0 lead. It all began when Bucco starter A.J. Burnett walked his mound opponent Adam Wainwright. That was followed by a single and then a three run homer by Carlos Beltran. The onslaught continued with a double, hit batter, and walk to load the bases. Jon Jay then was walked to bring in the fourth run of the inning and Burnett’s day was over after a David Freese single brought in two more runs.
Definitely not the start Pittsburgh wanted out of A.J. He lasted only two innings, giving up seven runs on six hits, while walking four. If he does take the mound again this postseason he will take the hill with a 31.50 ERA. Ouch. Many will question why Clint Hurdle left Burnett in so long, but I doubt the true reason will surface.
Wainwright on the other hand was lights out over the course of seven innings. He allowed three hits, one of which was a solo homer by Pedro Alvarez, while striking out nine batters.
The Pirates were only able to collect four hits on the night. One by Pedro, one by Justin Morneau, and two hits from Andrew McCutchen, those kinds of stats won’t win you many games this time of year. Even the defense had a rough day with three errors.
The Buccos looked a little overwhelmed today and maybe that was because of being over hyped after Tuesday’s win. They now need to quickly forget about this game and get ready for game two tomorrow afternoon. That game will feature Gerrit Cole taking on Lance Lynn. No time to hit the panic button Bucco fans, a win tomorrow makes this a whole new series heading back to Pittsburgh.
Cardinals lead series 1-0
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
