The following things happened in this game:
- Neil Walker went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and a walk.
- Andrew McCutchen went 1-for-4.
- The Pirates started six fringe Major Leaguers around Walker and McCutchen.
- Charlie Morton failed to get out of the sixth inning.
- The Pirates won.
They won because Ronny Cedeno had two doubles that turned into runs, Eric Fryer had two hits and a huge pickoff of Gerald Laird at second in the eighth, Chase d’Arnaud had an RBI double and played some sparkling defense at third base, and Xavier Paul legged out an infield single, stole second and went to third on Laird’s bad throw, and scored on a d’Arnaud flyball to shallow centerfield. On top of it all, the bullpen (Jason Grilli, who was great in bailing Morton out in the sixth, Chris Resop, Joel Hanrahan, and Joe Beimel) was excellent and held the Cards to three runs after Colby Rasmus’s laser-beam homer in the sixth.
It doesn’t matter how you win games, just that you win them. The Pirates are halfway through their two-week gauntlet. They went 3-3 against two tough NL Central opponents. If the Brewers lose in San Francisco this afternoon, the Bucs will be in a three-way tie for first. Friday and Saturday were disappointing, but they’re over now. On to Atlanta.
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