In the end, all wins count the same in the standings. The Pirates didn’t play all that well today: Kevin Correia was decent, the bullpen had a second straight bad day, the Bucs left a decent amount of guys on base, and it seemed like they were eventually going to give the game to the Astros.
They didn’t, though. They hung around until the Astros fell apart spectacularly in the top of the 11th and they took advantage when it happened. Alex Presley and Neil Walker both stayed hot with five hits between them, Brandon Wood came up with a couple of timely hits, and the Pirates got the win they needed to take two out of three from the Astros.
Two weeks ago, we looked at the upcoming schedule and said, “The Pirates could be in first place on July 17th.” They won six of nine against the Cubs and Astros, but only made up a game in the standings. Now comes the real test: six games at home against the Reds and Cardinals and seven on the road in Atlanta (for four) and Philadelphia. Are our Pittsburgh Pirates real contenders? In two weeks time, we’re going to have a pretty good idea.
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