Morton lasts one inning, but Pirates Victorious

Charlie Morton started his first game with the Pirates and wanted nothing more the avenge the team that traded him a week prior, but his night came to an abrupt halt...an inning into the game. After the first inning, Morton had to be taken out of the game due to a tight right hamstring. The man whose spot he took in the starting rotation, Jeff Karstens, came into the game to save the day. With all the twists and turns the Pirates had to deal with in the beginning, the result was sweet. The Pirates held on to defeat the Braves 3-2 Wednesday night, finally getting the breaks to go their way.

Adam LaRoche drove in two of the Pirates three runs hitting in the fourth spot in the lineup. The 2 (Nyjer Morgan), 3 (Freddy Sanchez), and 4 (Adam LaRoche) hitters for the Pirates accounted for five of the six hits and two of the three RBI's. Pittsburgh had plenty of chances to blow this game wide open, but failed to drive in a run with the bases loaded three times. Pirate hitters showed excellent patience at the plate accounting for seven walks on the night. Plate discipline and small ball have been the keys to Pirate victories this season.

The bullpen has been an Achilles heal for the Pirates this season, accounting for many blown leads and heartbreaking losses. Jeff Karstens came into the game in the second inning and pitched a gem. Karstens went 4 2/3 innings allowing only 1 earned run. Grabow looked outstanding in the two innings he was in the game and while Matt Capps gave up a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, he still hung on for his 14th save on the season.

I really enjoyed watching tonight's game. The Pirates showed a lot of plate discipline and the lineup is really starting to gel. Unfortunately some of the players in the lineup are on showcase, as I still believe Adam LaRoche and Freddy Sanchez will be moved prior to the trading deadline. Andrew McCutchen was quiet on the night, but the one-two punch with him and Moragan is going to be special for a long time. A nice surprise so far this season has been catcher Jason Jaramillo. He is hitting .267 with 1 HR and 14 RBI's while filling in for Ryan Doumit. All of 14 RBI's have come in only 30 games. In fact, he drove in a run tonight with a RBI single. The Pirates can come up with a series split tomorrow in a day game against Atlanta. So much for my predictions today (Morton strong outing against former team and McCutchen hitting his first homer of the season). My prediction for tomorrow is Pirates score 10 runs without a single home run and Andy LaRoche has a big game!.