35.8 F
Pittsburgh

Game 157: Bucs Best Cards as Reds Clinch Division

Published:

Brian Burres was effective in a fairly brief outing and Garrett Jones and John Bowker each drove in three runs as the Pirates got a rare win on the road. Also rare is a win over former Bucco and nemesis Jeff Suppan.

Pittsburgh jumped all over Suppan in the first inning. Andrew McCutchen led off the game with a walk. He moved to second on a passed ball and onto third when Jose Tabata grounded out. Suppan’s error on Neil Walker’s ball allowed Cutch to score and set up Garrett Jones for a two run jack. It was 3-0 Pittsburgh before the Cards came to the bat.

Brian Burres did his best to keep St. Louis at bay. Matt Pagnozzi hit a solo homer in the second inning. In the next frame Burres walked two men and one scored on an error from Ronny Cedeno.

Pittsburgh added a run in the sixth. Suppan allowed singles to Cutch and Tabata before being pulled for Trever Miller. He allowed an RBI single to Jones to give the Pirates a two run cushion. Not wanting to lose an away game, John Russell pulled Burres after he allowed a two out single in the sixth. Chris Resop retired Pagnozzi to end the inning.

Pittsburgh popped the game open in the eighth inning off Mike MacDougal. A double by Jones and walks to Ryan Doumit and Cedeno loaded the bases. John Bowker delivered a two out, pinch hit, bases clearing double to give the Pirates a five run cushion.

Burres allowed two runs (one earned) in 5-2/3 innings. He gave up four hits and walked three. He struck out none. Suppan fell to 2-8 on the year by giving up three runs in 5-1/3 innings. He gave up five hits and walked one.

The Good
Jones missed the cycle by a triple and drove in three.

Cutch scored two more runs.

Burres has allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of his last five starts.

The Bad
Cedeno committed another error.

The Rest
Burres evens his career mark to 1-1 against St. Louis. He was beaten by St. Louis in the finale of the series at home last week. Suppan falls to 16-4 against the Pirates.

This was the first time since 2008 that Bowker drove in more than two runs in a game.

Pittsburgh has not won a road series since taking two of three from Colorado July 27-29.

Jones had a 15 game stretch in September in which he didn’t have an RBI. He now has eight RBI in his last five games.

Cutch has scored in eleven of the last twelve games and now rests at 93 runs scored on the season. He needs to score seven times in the final five games to hit triple digits.

The homer was the first of Pagnozzi’s career.

Related Articles

Article Drop

Latest Articles