Know Your Foe #36: Pirates welcome Rockies to PNC Park in hopes of winning season series

by Bryan Kilpatrick on Aug 5, 2010 12:00 PM MDT in Know Your Foe

PITTSBURGH PIRATES (37-70, last place in NL Central)

Last Series vs. Rockies: July 27-29, 2010 @ Coors Field (W 2-1)

Behind the spectacular defensive play of Andrew McCutchen and an impressive display of power from Garrett Jones, the Pirates rolled in to Denver and took two out of three from the at-the-time reeling Rockies. Jones was 6-for-12 in the series with three doubles and two home runs. In addition to his glove, McCutchen succeeded with the bat as well, going 4-for-8 with a couple of doubles. Neil Walker hurt the Rockies as well, as he was 5-for-13 with two longballs.

On the pitching end, Zach Duke baffled Colorado in Game 1 of the series, as he went six innings and allowed just three hits - two of which were solo home runs. He walked two and struck out four. In the second game, starter Ross Ohlendorf was knocked out of the game by a line drive off the bat of Troy Tulowitzki. However, the relief corps stepped up and kept the Rockies off of the scoreboard for the most part. Colorado finally broke through in the finale against Paul Maholm, as he allowed five runs to cross the plate in the second inning alone and eight overall.

Recent Series Results: lost 0-3 at St. Louis, lost 1-2 vs. Cincinnati

Immediately upon leaving Denver, the Pirates resumed their customary losing ways, as they were swept in St. Louis in very ugly fashion. They were outscored 21-2 in the three-game set, despite getting 23 total hits. Jose Tabata had a pretty nice series on paper, going 6-for-12. However, none of his hits went for extra bases.

In the Cincinnati series, the Pirates lost the opener 4-0, which was their fifth straight defeat. The seemingly unhittable Travis Wood kept the Pirates in check, holding them to just two hits. In Game 2, McCutchen exited early after being hit by a Mike Leake fastball which looked a lot more serious than it apparently has turned out to be. However, led by Neil Walker's 3-for-4, 4 RBI game, the Pirates evened up the series. In yesterday's rubber match, the Bucs hit three homers, but only scored four runs in all and lost by a wide margin. The good news, however, was that McCutchen was back on the field and even hit one of the three aforementioned dingers.

It is also worth noting that Jeff Clement has hit a couple of pinch-hit homers within the past week, as the Pirates try to get him back into the form that made him the third overall pick in 2005.

Thursday-Sunday: 4-game series @ PNC Park

Expected Pitching Matchups

Thursday, 5 August 2010 @ 5:05pm MT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2010 - Jeff Francis	4-3	14	14	0	0	0	0	81.0	86	42	40	4	19	49	4.44	1.30

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2010 - James McDonald	0-1	4	1	0	0	0	0	7.2	11	7	7	1	5	7	8.22	2.09

Friday, 6 August 2010 @ 5:05pm MT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2010 - Jason Hammel	7-6	19	19	0	0	0	0	117.1	124	59	57	10	31	100	4.37	1.32

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2010 - Zach Duke	5-10	21	18	0	0	0	0	102.1	132	68	61	16	32	63	5.36	1.60

Saturday, 7 August 2010 @ 5:05pm MT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2010 - Jorge De La Rosa	4-3	9	9	0	0	0	0	50.1	47	33	28	6	26	53	5.01	1.45

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2010 - Ross Ohlendorf	1-9	17	17	0	0	0	0	87.2	93	47	43	11	38	61	4.41	1.49

Sunday, 8 August 2010 @ 11:35am MT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2010 - TBA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2010 - Paul Maholm	7-9	22	22	1	1	0	0	131.1	153	74	67	10	47	64	4.59	1.52

More after the jump...

Expected Lineup

Player	Pos	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	ISO	BABIP	wOBA
Andrew McCutchen	CF	0.286	0.359	0.435	0.794	0.149	0.322	0.354
Jose Tabata	LF	0.297	0.351	0.391	0.742	0.094	0.335	0.332
Neil Walker	2B	0.303	0.340	0.454	0.795	0.151	0.357	0.344
Garrett Jones	1B	0.264	0.326	0.426	0.752	0.162	0.295	0.330
Pedro Alvarez	3B	0.227	0.304	0.427	0.730	0.200	0.299	0.321
Lastings Milledge	RF	0.275	0.335	0.384	0.720	0.109	0.324	0.317
Chris Snyder	C	0.224	0.344	0.410	0.754	0.185	0.273	0.329
Ronny Cedeno	SS	0.245	0.286	0.359	0.646	0.114	0.306	0.285

Bench

Player	Pos	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	ISO	BABIP	wOBA
Erik Kratz	C	0.118	0.167	0.118	0.284	0.000	0.160	0.138
Jeff Clement	1B	0.205	0.243	0.386	0.629	0.182	0.217	0.264
Argenis Diaz	IF	0.333	0.333	0.333	0.667	0.000	0.333	0.298
Andy LaRoche	3B	0.223	0.290	0.299	0.589	0.076	0.250	0.268
Delwyn Young	Util	0.253	0.304	0.438	0.742	0.185	0.320	0.325

Closer

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2010 - Joel Hanrahan	2-1	49	0	0	0	1	2	47.2	34	18	18	5	14	67	3.40	1.01

Injuries

Pittsburgh Pirates Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ryan Doumit	concussion	07/22/2010

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jose Ascanio	shoulder	03/26/2010
Steve Pearce	knee	05/25/2010

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Comments

Guess what...

that lineup still looks weak outside of the leadoff hitter, and they have a new closer. Cool

The only difference between love and baseball is a "G."
JFK

by jrockies on Aug 5, 2010 12:22 PM MDT reply actions

we will have the pitching and lineup advantage in all four games

No excuse for a split. No excuse

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Aug 5, 2010 12:37 PM MDT via mobile reply actions

Anything less than 3 of 4 and I will be disappointed. And if we get game one tonight I like our chances to sweep

by Roxfan24 on Aug 5, 2010 12:54 PM MDT up reply actions

completely agree

pitching matchups are very strong for us.

Rowsdower! But why, Rowsdower?
WHEN CHICKS HAVE HOT FRIENDS AND THERE MIGHT BE MORE THAN ONE HOT FRIEND DUCKS FLY TOGETHER
Denver.SBNation.com

by Muzia on Aug 5, 2010 12:57 PM MDT up reply actions

Especially with Chacin going on Sunday :-)

"My eyes! The goggles do nothing!" - Rainier Wolfcastle

by BittenAnkles on Aug 5, 2010 12:59 PM MDT up reply actions

I've been waiting to hear that for quite some time.

Cook was a gamer. I hope he can find his location again.

The lack of Seth Smith's beard is irrational
Yankee Haters Encouragement Group Member #π

by Thnikkaman on Aug 5, 2010 1:56 PM MDT up reply actions

And we don't even use an Ubaldo start in this series

Six game winning streak here we come

If the 2007 Rockies can win 21 out of 22 to reach the World Series and the 2009 Rockies can come from 12 games under .500 in June to make the playoffs, why can't the 2010 Rockies make the postseason after being 51-50?

Yankee Haters Encouragement Group Member #1

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Aug 5, 2010 1:13 PM MDT up reply actions

Split = Not Getting it Done = Season Over

by cocainelips99 on Aug 5, 2010 1:22 PM MDT up reply actions

How many times has the season been over?

I’ve lost count

Yankee Haters Encouragement Group Member #1

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Aug 5, 2010 1:41 PM MDT up reply actions

51

The only difference between love and baseball is a "G."
JFK

by jrockies on Aug 5, 2010 1:45 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs

Ha! I had the same thought.

"Are they called the Rockies because they rock?" - 7 y.o.

by glaucophane on Aug 5, 2010 1:50 PM MDT up reply actions

I have to rec this

Yankee Haters Encouragement Group Member #1

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Aug 5, 2010 3:28 PM MDT up reply actions

That will happen...

after a rowbot runs out of fingers and toes to count on…

Ignorance of the American League is a sign of good moral character.

Notorious Hat Liar

"Cheap tacos are rightous!"-My Daughter

by RdRnnr on Aug 5, 2010 1:49 PM MDT up reply actions

I can count to 1023 on my fingers.

The lack of Seth Smith's beard is irrational
Yankee Haters Encouragement Group Member #π

by Thnikkaman on Aug 5, 2010 1:57 PM MDT up reply actions

well I am not really allowed to say it because it is basically blasphemy

but the season was over on July 28th.

by cocainelips99 on Aug 5, 2010 2:06 PM MDT up reply actions

5.5 games back on August 5th? with the majority of games remaining against our own division?

still a decent chance. I’m not proclaiming playoffs, because we are still in deep water, but it’s not over by any means

Rowsdower! But why, Rowsdower?
WHEN CHICKS HAVE HOT FRIENDS AND THERE MIGHT BE MORE THAN ONE HOT FRIEND DUCKS FLY TOGETHER
Denver.SBNation.com

by Muzia on Aug 5, 2010 2:09 PM MDT up reply actions

I’m not proclaiming playoffs

I hope not, that’s Jeff’s job and he hasn’t been seen much since his last proclamation…

The only difference between love and baseball is a "G."
JFK

by jrockies on Aug 5, 2010 2:11 PM MDT up reply actions

It's not blasphemy...just wrong

"It's a miracle. This is a simple game. You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball."-Nuke LaLoosh
"You can learn a lot just by watching"-Yogi Berra (thanks to pedalpusher)
"Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!" Ubaldo, Tulo, Hawpe and Spilly say "Germans?"
QPU #4, YHEG #4, Proud Member PR Gynocracy

by SDcat09 on Aug 5, 2010 2:55 PM MDT up reply actions

Your definition of over is clearly different than mine

Yankee Haters Encouragement Group Member #1

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Aug 5, 2010 3:28 PM MDT up reply actions

3 out of 4

nothing less

time to make another run to the postseason....get it going guys!!

Troy Tulowitzki: "When people think of the Rockies, I want them to think of a winning organization."

by TuLoRocks2008 on Aug 5, 2010 1:51 PM MDT reply actions

James "what the hell did I do?" McDonald.

The OT: All that AND a bag of meat.

by frightened inmate #2 on Aug 5, 2010 1:55 PM MDT reply actions

lol that's funny

by SDcat09 on Aug 5, 2010 2:56 PM MDT up reply actions

I was pretty blown away at Hanrahan's strikeout and hits allowed totals when saw them...

He has definitely had quite a season thus far, in my opinion.

Just an average guy with exceptional hair. Nothing more, nothing less.
Bear Naked - My thoughts on sports, music, and life.

by Bryan Kilpatrick on Aug 5, 2010 2:04 PM MDT reply actions

Chris Nelson called up and on lineup card

Cook to DL, another roster move to be made on Sunday for Chacin

Watching the purple row from high atop the big brown monolith on California Ave

by Mondogarage on Aug 5, 2010 2:06 PM MDT reply actions

works for me since Mora is kind of hurt from yesterday

The only difference between love and baseball is a "G."
JFK

by jrockies on Aug 5, 2010 2:09 PM MDT up reply actions

That was my thinking

However, Mora says he is available. I think the idea was, no need to call up Chacin yet, and no point in not putting Cook on DL at this time, so call up someone we can turn around and send back, but we have more flexibility of Mora’s not getting around well.

Watching the purple row from high atop the big brown monolith on California Ave

by Mondogarage on Aug 5, 2010 2:14 PM MDT up reply actions