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Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a chance to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals on the road and once again this club failed to capitalize on an opportunity, turning a 4-2 lead into an 8-4 defeat.
The difference in Sunday night’s contest was the bullpens.
Four Cardinals relievers limited the Pirates to just one hit over three innings, while the Bucs pen allowed four runs, three of which were earned, in the final three frames.
Pirates starter Chad Kuhl didn’t record an out in the sixth inning, so that streak is still in tact. Kuhl gave up a bomb to Randall Grichuck in the sixth and Jedd Gyorkko followed with a pinch-hit ground-rule RBI double off of Tony Watson to make it a 4-4 game.
Grichuk’s 478-foot homer was the longest by a Cardinals player in the new Busch Stadium and the second-longest in stadium history.
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The blown lead is extremely disappointing because it is a game the Pirates probably could have won. Add this loss to countless games the Bucs could have won this season but didn’t and it’s not hard to figure out the problem with this club.
They went just 5-5 during this recent 10-game stretch against division opponents and while that’s not the end of the world, it doesn’t help make up ground in the division either.
It’s more troublesome that they had the lead in three of the five losses.
An 8-2 mark during this 10-game stretch would have looked a whole heck of a lot better that a 5-5 mark and the Bucs would be in a nice position in the standings, instead of still sitting five games out.
The Pirates are off on Monday before hosting Tampa Bay on Tuesday with Trevor Williams getting the start.
Meadows update
Austin Meadows is expected to miss up to four weeks with a torn hamstring.
The 22-year-old was hitting .248 with four home runs and 35 RBI in 281 plate appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis this season before the injury last week.
The Pirates top prospect got off to a very slow start and heated up in May before the injury. During the month of May, Meadows slashed .300/.358/.445. Despite that, Meadows was only hitting .214 during the month of June before the injury.
Injuries have been a problem for Meadows, but his current situation could also impact the Pirates plans for Andrew McCutchen come the trade deadline.
If anyone thinks the plan is as simple as trade McCutchen and bring Meadows up, that is not going to happen. That wasn’t going to happen before the injury to Meadows and it surely isn’t going to happen now.
If McCutchen is moved it will be for different reasons other than to create a spot for Meadows, who isn’t ready yet for an every day job in the majors.
Baseball Talk on the Web
- Cody Bellinger is for real and he is spectacular.
- Mets rookie Tim Tebow is on the move.
- Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and the history books.
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