Results tagged “pittsburghpirates”

On Sunday I attended my second ever NFL game. The first game I attended was the Giants at the Redskins. The outcome of that game was inconsequential to my overall enjoyment of the matchup. I liked neither the Giants nor the Redskins. I don’t even think I really enjoyed the experience. It was mainly a function of the ridiculous drive that has to be made in order to reach FedEx Field (the home of the Washington Redskins). It is wholly inaccessible via public transportation (aside from manufactured ‘shuttle’ bus routes). It was cheap for Dan Snyder to build a stadium out there so he did it.

A Michael Tucker RBI single and a Shane Victorino three-run homerun lifted the Phillies to a 4 - 0 win over the Atlanta Braves yesterday. The Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2 - 1, to maintain their two game lead over the Phillies.

It's happened a few times this season: Charlie Manuel makes a bad move. Bill Dancy makes an even worse move. An Ed Wade acquisition, like David Bell or Michael Tucker (better yet, David Bell AND Michael Tucker), hits into a key double play.

Jimmy Rollins extended his league-leading hit streak last night against the Atlanta Braves, but that was about the only thing that went right for the Phillies. The Fightin's lost 4 - 1 against the Braves last night in Atlanta, leaving them two games behind the Houston Astros, who beat up on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both teams have 11 games left this season. The Marlins, sitting in third place in the Wild Card race, lost to the New York Mets in 12 innings and now find themselves three games back of the Astros.

The Houston Astros lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates last night, 7 - 0 at PNC Park. No no, this isn't suddenly Pittsburghist. We're interested in this game because the Astros were sitting a game and a half ahead of the Phillies heading into last night's action. After the loss, the Astros find themselves only one game ahead of the Phillies, sure to make the eventual Phillies collapse that much more heartbreaking.

Look at the box score of this game; just look at it. How can you have 9 hits and just one run? In last night’s game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Phillies could not find their way if home they Mapquested it. The story of the night was “stranded runners.” Even with their ace pitcher, Brett Myers, on the mound, the Phils could not pull out the win. Brett Myers pitched a very good game, but it was not enough to overcome Pittsburgh's rookie sensation, Zach Duke, who pitched seven shutout innings. The game was won by a fourth-inning, two-run homer by Humberto Cota. Myers said of his performance, “I made one mistake and I lost the game.'' We can be very rough on our home team, but we give credit where it is due. Brett Myers is an excellent pitcher and we, in no way, fault him for losing this game. It’s true that he gave up the homerun that put the Pirates over the top, but 2 runs should not be an insurmountable lead in Major League Baseball. The Phillies’ bats were just cold when it mattered. The Phillies did manage to find home in one way, though: they found their way home to the basement of the NL East. The Phils are back, once again, to .500 and a half game behind the Mets. They will try to temporarily climb out of the basement tonight, as Robinson Tejeda takes on the first-place Nationals’ Ryan Drese at 7:05pm.

As jaded as I can usually be when it comes to the Phillies, I have to admit that I loved every minute of yesterday’s game against the Pirates. It was very heartening to see the Phils bat around the lineup in the fifth, to see that they can play small-ball and not have to rely on the brute force strategy that they are so accustomed to at Citizens Bank Park. When Pittsburgh went up by one in the second, many Philadelphia fans (myself included) started to think, “Here we go.” However, that mood soon changed when all-star Bobby Abreu crushed a grand slam into deep right field in the third. Abreu’s homer supercharged this normally lethargic Phillies lineup. The fifth inning quickly turned into batting practice for the Phils as they batted around the lineup, scoring 6 runs. The Phils scored a run in both the seventh and the ninth. The Pirates, after their sole run in the second, were blanked for the rest of the game. The game was extremely promising. I realize that they beat up on the one of the weakest kids in the schoolyard, the Pittsburgh Pirates, but it illustrated the point that this team can get the job done when it comes to hitting. A lot of responsibility comes with being an all-star, and part of that means being a team leader. Abreu will need to stand up and lead this team to victory if they are going to win.