Pittsburgh Pirates

I’m a big Louis CK fan. I’ve mentioned this at times on the site, or on Twitter, and especially on Facebook. Although I don’t really make my Facebook page public, so you’ll just have to trust me on that one. I think I’ve grown to like Louis CK even more in the last year because of his comments on divorce. His comments about pretty much any subject are extremely hilarious, but also extremely accurate. It was no different for divorce. So last year when I got divorced, I found his jokes to be hilarious, and totally true. Before you “aww like a puppy died”, as Louis CK would say, know that one of his most accurate jokes is how divorce is always good news. In a “Tim Williams” quote, rather than using a Louis CK quote, I can tell you there are things I no longer have to do. For example, I never have to step foot in a Pottery Barn again. If Michael’s is having a 50 percent off sale on frames, I don’t have to walk around the store finding something interesting, or try to run out the clock looking at cats at PetSmart next door. If I see a hot girl in a bar, I can talk to her, fail to pick her up, then go home and masturbate thinking about her without any guilt. OK, that last one was Louis CK inspired. There’s one Louis CK divorce quote that I thought about in a different way tonight. I’ll post the quote below, then try to tie it into baseball so this isn’t just an excuse to talk about Louis CK. Plus we’re like three paragraphs in, and hardly any baseball talk. “It’s hard to start again after a marriage. It’s hard to really look at someone and go ‘Maybe something nice will happen’. I know too much about life to have any optimism. I know even if it’s nice, it’s going to lead to shit. I know if you smile at somebody and they smile back, you’ve just decided something shitty is going to happen. You might have a nice couple of dates but then she’ll stop calling you back and that’ll feel shitty. Or you’ll date for a long time and then she’ll have sex with one of your friends or you will with one of hers and that will be shitty. Or you’ll get married and it won’t work out and you’ll get divorced and split your friends and money and that’s horrible. Or you’ll meet the perfect person who you love infinitely and you even argue well and you grow together and you have children and then you get old together and then SHE’S GONNA DIE. That’s the BEST CASE SCENARIO, is that you’re gonna lose your best friend and then just walk home from D’agostino’s with heavy bags every day and wait for your turn to be nothing also.” -Louis CK That “I know too much to have any optimism” part is kind of the way I feel about advanced statistics. In the past, back before I knew about AB/HR, strand rates, or BABIP, I would look at a starter like Jeff Locke and think “that guy could be an ace”. Now I know too much. I don’t even look at the ERA. I look at the FIP numbers. And because of that, I know things aren’t going to be as good for Locke in the future. James Santelli wrote about that subject this afternoon. I’ve written about pitchers regression using FIP a lot in the past. There was one notable article back in 2011 when the Pirates were contending, but almost every single pitcher was performing above their heads. If you look at the comments in both articles, you’ll see a lot of the same arguments. You should totally enjoy Jeff Locke’s start to the year. But realize it probably won’t continue this way. 1. Let’s just enjoy it. I don’t want to pick on Lee Young, because I like Lee. But I did laugh when I saw the same response from Lee in two articles about the same topic separated by about two years. And you know what? Lee is right. You should totally enjoy it. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed watching Locke’s last start where he went seven shutout innings, giving up just three hits. Sure, it was

You can take pretty much any old baseball adage about gutting out a win on a night when you don't play your best game and apply it to this 5-4 Pirate win against the Cubs right here, but it doesn't mean that the win counts any less. Wandy Rodriguez didn't quite have his best stuff tonight, which got the Pirates in a 3-0 hole in the second inning after Matt Garza hit a two-run double. The Pirates couldn't figure Garza out in his 2013 debut, either, which was really frustrating to watch. On the other end of it, Jason Grilli re-enacted all sorts of Bad Closer memories in the ninth inning by white-knuckling his way to a terrifying save, saving his first and only swing-and-miss for his 35th pitch of the ninth inning, slipping a slider past Anthony Rizzo to somehow close out a closer-than-it-should've-been-win. Buried in the middle of all of that, the Pirates snuck in one good inning. Garza was on a strict pitch count, so he came out of the game after the fifth inning. Hector Rondon came in and served up an immediate double to Neil Walker, then after Andrew McCutchen grounded out he gave up a single to Garrett Jones and walked Russell Martin. Dale Sveum had seen enough, so he brought James Russell in to face Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez has had plate discipline issues all year (that's even if he's being judged on the Pedro Alvarez Sliding Scale of Plate Discipline Issues and not the plate discipline scale we'd apply to most human beings), but he laid off of some very close pitches from Russell and somehow checked his swing on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt to draw a walk and bring home the Pirates' first run. Sveum came out to get Russell and brought Shawn Camp in, and after Gaby Sanchez flew out to shallow left field for the second out, Clint Hurdle decided to pull some stops out of his own. I'm not sure if the uncertainty of a looming rain storm made Hurdle and Sveum treat the bottom of the sixth inning like it was the bottom of the ninth, but it was pretty great to see. One thing that managers do that never fails to get on my nerves is to save the "big" pinch-hitting bats for later in the game, even when an opportunity exists for them to make an impact early. Hurdle didn't fall into that trap tonight; with Sveum more or less committed to Camp as the third pitcher of the sixth inning, Hurdle sent Travis Snider out a batter early to pinch hit for Clint Barmes to ensure that a big bat would get to the plate with runners on. Snider paid that gamble back in spades by driving Camp's 2-1 pitch just over the right-center fence for a grand slam and the difference in the game. This is the exact sort of game that cropped up a few times last summer and a few more times early this year I have a little bit of difficulty processing. The Pirates didn't really play badly tonight by any stretch. Wandy Rodriguez was pretty good and Justin Wilson and Mark Melancon were excellent and Pedro Alvarez made an incredible play at third base. It's just that they weren't necessarily better than the Cubs and that for most of the night, it seemed like one of those games where the door was just going to be closed for the Pirates. Then, the door opened up for just a split second in the fifth inning and the Pirates jumped all over that one opportunity (to be fair, they had another opportunity later in the fifth when the loaded the bases up for Andrew McCutchen and he lashed a hard fly ball to left field, but it was hit right at Alfonso Soriano) and their manager put the right players in the right places at the right time and they got a win. Sneaking out a win in a game like this, even when it's against the Cubs, is a good feeling.

Clay Holmes will get the start for West Virginia today on the road. He has had trouble with walks all season, issuing 28 free passes in 36 innings. He has walked at least three batters in seven of his eight starts and only two pitchers in the South Atlantic League have allowed more walks. West Virginia has an early morning start time today. Indianapolis has off today. For a look at the possible starters over the next few weeks, please check out our Probable Pitchers Chart. We have added a Recent Transactions section to the bottom of this page, for all Pirates minor league transactions. A full recap of yesterday’s action can be found here. Clay Holmes has struggled with his control all season AAA: Indianapolis (32-15) @ Buffalo (26-18) 7:05pm 5/23 Probable starter: Brandon Cumpton (3-2, 2.83) Yesterday’s Result: Pawtucket 9, Indianapolis 8 Indianapolis is off today. When they resume play on Thursday, they will finish up their current road trip with four games in Buffalo. Last week, Indianapolis won two of three against Buffalo at home. The Indians have a 3.5 game lead in their division and they also have the best record in the entire International League. They are 12-10 on the road, 20-5 at home. Indianapolis has gone 6-4 in their last ten games. AA: Altoona (19-26) @ Reading (17-26) 6:35pm Probable starter: David Bromberg (2-4, 4.65) Yesterday’s Result: Reading 3, Altoona 0 David Bromberg will get his fifth start of the season tonight. He has also pitched four times in relief. As a starter, he is 1-3, 4.29 in 21 innings. He has a .308 BAA as a starter, .222 when he pitches in relief. Bromberg threw five scoreless innings in his last outing, a relief appearance on 5/16 against Trenton. On the road, he is 0-2, 7.00 in two relief appearances and one start. High-A: Bradenton (17-28) vs Tampa (19-24) 6:30pm Probable starter: Zack Dodson (0-1, 3.06) Yesterday’s Result: Tampa 7, Bradenton 0 Zack Dodson will make his fourth start of the season tonight. In his opener, he went five innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits and two walks. In his second outing, he gave up two runs on six hits in six innings. Dodson pitched even better in his last start, allowing one run over 6.2 innings. He has allowed a home run in all three starts. In 17.2 innings, he has 11 strikeouts, a 1.53 GO/AO ratio and a .206 BAA. Low-A: West Virginia (23-22) @ Kannapolis (15-26) 10:05am Probable starter: Clay Holmes (1-3, 5.50) Yesterday’s Result:  West Virginia 9, Kannapolis 3 Clay Holmes will make his ninth start of the season today. He is coming off what was possibly his best start of the season, one-hit ball over five innings of work. Prior to that, he was on the disabled list with a minor ankle injury that pushed his start back four days. Holmes has pitched on the road only twice this season, giving up three runs over five innings on 4/26 and 11 days earlier, he threw 5.1 scoreless innings. He has a 1.96 GO/AO ratio and a .254 BAA. Recent Transactions 5/20 Alex Dickerson placed on DL. Justin Howard added to Altoona roster. 5/19 Chase d’Arnaud assigned to Altoona roster. 5/18 Jeff Karstens added to Altoona roster. 5/16 Clay Holmes activated from DL. Josh Smith assigned to Jamestown roster. 5/16 Cesar Lopez sent to Extended Spring Training. Kurt Yacko assigned to Bradenton roster

TOP OF THE SYSTEM A look at how the current top 20 prospects did today.  Note that this list doesn’t include players currently in the majors. If a player is in the majors, he will be removed, everyone below him will be shifted up a spot, and a new player will be added to the bottom of the list. Rankings are from the pre-season rankings, and links to each prospect writeup can be found by clicking the player names below. Players who weren’t in the original top 20 are linked to their player page on the site. 1. Gerrit Cole, RHP, Indianapolis (3-2, 3.75) - DNP 2. Jameson Taillon, RHP, Altoona (2-5, 3.02) - DNP 3. Gregory Polanco, CF, Bradenton (.309) - 2-for-4, SB 4. Alen Hanson, SS, Bradenton (.271) - 1-for-4 5. Luis Heredia, RHP, Extended Spring Training (Luis Heredia Close to Joining West Virginia) 6. Josh Bell, RF, West Virginia (.275) – 0-for-5 7. Barrett Barnes, CF, West Virginia (.220) - Low-A DL 8. Tyler Glasnow, RHP, West Virginia (3-0, 2.12) - DNP 9. Kyle McPherson, RHP, Indianapolis (0-1, 19.29) – Triple-A DL 10. Nick Kingham, RHP, Bradenton (5-2, 3.42) - DNP 11. Clay Holmes, RHP, West Virginia (1-3, 5.50) - DNP 12. Dilson Herrera, 2B, West Virginia (.305) - 3-for-5, HR, 4 RBI 13. Tony Sanchez, C, Indianapolis (.310) - 2-for-2, HR, 2 BB 14. Wyatt Mathisen, C, West Virginia (.191) – 1-for-4, BB 15. Adrian Sampson, RHP, Bradenton (1-1, 6.94) - DNP 16. Vic Black, RHP, Indianapolis (0-2, 2.63) – 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 HR 17. Andy Oliver, LHP, Indianapolis (3-2, 2.87) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 1 HR 18. Jin-De Jhang, C, Extended Spring Training 19. Stolmy Pimentel, RHP, Altoona (2-2, 3.35) - DNP 20. Jordy Mercer, SS, Indianapolis (.333) - In Majors ORDER YOUR 2013 PROSPECT GUIDE The 2013 Prospect Guide is now available, and is the perfect resource to follow the minor league system during the 2013 season. You can order your copy on the products page of the site. Order together with the 2013 Annual and save $5! DAILY SUMMARY Top Pitcher: Orlando Castro, LHP (4-3, 1.95) – 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HR Top Hitter: Stetson Allie, 1B (.329) – 2-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB Home Runs: Jared Goedert (5), Tony Sanchez (4), Jerry Sands (3), Stetson Allie 2 (11, 12), Dilson Herrera (5) AAA: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS   Box Score Result: Pawtucket 9, Indianapolis 8 Starting Pitcher: Andy Oliver, LHP (3-2, 2.87) – 5.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 1 HR Top Hitter: Jerry Sands, RF (.186) – 3-for-5, 2B, HR Other Notable Performers: Tony Sanchez, C (.310) – 2-for-2, HR, 2 BB Jared Goedert, 3B (.235) – 1-for-5, HR Matt Hague, 1B (.294) – 3-for-5, 3 2B Josh Harrison, SS (.310) – 3-for-5, 2 2B Game Notes: Jerry Sands hit his second homer in as many games, and now has three homers in the last four games. Sands also has five extra base hits in the last six games. In his last ten games he’s hitting for a .294/.415/.706 line in 34 at-bats. Tony Sanchez hit his fourth homer of the season. He had a good day at the plate, but a bad day behind the plate with three errors. Jared Goedert hit his fifth homer of the year to bring the Indians within one in the ninth inning. Vic Black came on in the seventh inning, but left early with an unknown injury. Duke Welker gave up three earned runs. He’s given up eight earned runs in 4.2 innings over his last three outings. AA: ALTOONA CURVE   Box Score Result: Reading 3, Altoona 0 Starting Pitcher: Charlie Morton, RHP (1-1, 2.41) – 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 HR Top Hitter: Carlos Paulino, C (.215) – 1-for-3 Other Notable Performers: Andrew Lambo, CF (.287) – 1-for-4 Game Notes: Charlie Morton made a rehab start, throwing 80 pitches and 48 for strikes. Altoona didn’t have much offense, getting only four hits on the day. Gift Ngoepe and Adalberto Santos were both removed late in the game for an unspecified reason. A+: BRADENTON MARAUDERS Box Score Result:

Travis Snider's grand slam helped the Pirates come from behind to beat the Cubs, 5-4. The Cubs scored three off Wandy Rodriguez (who otherwise pitched well) in the second, thanks to a series of singles followed by a two-run double by pitcher Matt Garza. Garza pitched five shutout innings, but it was his season debut, so the Cubs pulled him after 82 pitches. That worked out brilliantly for the Pirates. Hector Rondon entered and promptly loaded the bases, leaving with one out. James Russell then walked Pedro Alvarez to bring in a run. Then, after Gaby Sanchez flied out, Travis Snider pinch-hit for Clint Barmes, and homered just over the fence in right-center. Give Clint Hurdle credit for pinch-hitting for Barmes there -- that's a great move. The Pirates managed to load the bases yet again that inning, but Andrew McCutchen lined out to end it. Jason Grilli allowed a run in the ninth when Darwin Barney tripled and came home on a single by Starlin Castro, but the Bucs escaped with a 5-4 win.

I think one of the great things about the way we use technology to follow sports is the ability to take a step back and observe the way the masses react to memorable moments. In the case of Travis Snider’s grand slam in the sixth inning of the Pirates’ 5-4 win against the Cubs on Tuesday, my observation is that there was smoke coming off my Twitter feed in the moments following the decisive strike. First, my humble submission: Salami in the Lunchbox. #Pirates #Cubs — Tom Bragg (@TomBraggSports) May 22, 2013   …and James’ bold prediction: Regardless of the result, I love this move to pinch-hit Snider for Barmes. #Pirates — James Santelli (@JamesSantelli) May 22, 2013 #PIRATES 5, CUBS 3 – 6th – What did I say? #LunchboxBomb — James Santelli (@JamesSantelli) May 22, 2013 This might be the exact moment Snider’s ball cleared the PNC Park wall. I assumed Snider’s shot would have landed him on Twitter’s trending topics for Pittsburgh. That, however, was not the case. It is somewhat shocking it did not crack the list, but that’s also my fault for assuming something very broad judging from just my Twitter feed. Pittsburgh seems to be decently connected when it comes to the online audience of its sports fans and media (see: anytime the Penguins do anything) and if you’re like me and keep an eye on Twitter during games to see what other people are saying about what is happening in real time then you probably got to take part in or at least witness that moment when you refreshed your page and suddenly OMG TRAVIS SNIDER IS PRETTY COOL GUYS CANNON BALL COMIN’. If you’re reading this and you do not follow games on Twitter, even just occasionally, then give it a try sometime. You might enjoy it.

Quiet start to the game. Wandy put away the Cubs in order; Matt Garza walked Neil Walker but otherwise iced the Bucs, thanks to a fence-crashing catch of a Cutch shot to the bullpen by Julio Borbon. The second, well...It went single, K, single, K, single, and that made it 1-0. With the pitcher Garza up, the rhythm should have continued with another K, but instead he doubled to right center on a ball right down the middle, and it was 3-0, all the runs plating after two were down. Garza celebrated his knock by striking out the side. In the third; the Cubs got a two-out single, which was one hit more than the Bucs could come up with in their half.Wandy limited the damage to a two-out single in the fourth. Walker drew his second walk to open the Pittsburgh half. He was forced by Cutch, who went to second on a wild pitch and to third on a grounder, but no further. The Cubs were retired in order - bet Wandy would like that fat two seamer to Garza in the second back - and the Pirates got a one out walk from Gaby. Clint Barmes singled him to second with the Bucs' first hit of the night. Wandy bunted them up, but a JT grounder that he almost legged out left them stranded.Chicago was retired on five pitches in the sixth. The Bucs got some good news; Garza, who was on an 85-90 pitch count, was gone after 82 pitches, replaced by RHP Hector Rendon.Walker greeted him with a double to right off a 2-0 heater. After Cutch bounced out to third, Garrett Jones dropped a single to left to put runners on the corners. Russell Martin fell behind 1-2, but worked a bases-jamming walk off Rendon. With Pedro up, Dale Sveum called on lefty James Russell for the matchup. El Toro laid off three sliders to get ahead 3-0, battled through four heaters to run the count full, and then checked off another slider in the dirt for the RBI walk.That was the night for Russell; righty Shawn Camp came on. He got Gaby to fly out to left, not deep enough to test Alfonso Soriano's arm. Travis Snider grabbed a bat to hit for Barmes. He got ahead 2-0, fouled off a change and then belted a second into right center into the first row for a grand slam, earning him a curtain call from the crowd.Jordy Mercer hit for Wandy and smacked the first pitch to left for a double. JT picked up an infield knock to put runners at the corners. The Kid walked on four pitches, his third free pass of the night, to juice the sacks. Cutch scorched a liner to left center, but right at Soriano to end the frame with Pittsburgh now up 5-3.Justin Wilson took the bump. Wandy went six, giving up three runs on six hits with five K; he was the 8-9 hitters away from a shutout. With an out in the seventh, Wilson gave up back-to-back ground ball singles into center; he's getting a little squeezed by plate ump Tim Timmons, who won't give him the inside corner. He tightened up and got Borbon swinging and Starlin Castro on a bouncer to short.Carlos Marmol took over for the Cubs. Starling Marte greeted him with a pinch single, but was quickly erased trying to steal second on a strike by Wellington Castillo. Martin got aboard after a nine-pitch battle on a gift when Soriano dropped his fly to left, ending up on second, but the Bucs couldn't take advantage.Mark Melancon climbed the hill in the eighth. He struck out the first pair before David DeJesus singled off him, then survived a scare as Castillo took one to the track in center for the third out. That out wasn't the only loud thing at PNC; the thunder and lightning are all around the park now. Kevin Gregg took his turn for the Cubs. He gave up an infield knock to Mercer as he otherwise put the Bucs away.Jason Grilli toed the rubber. He gave up a one out triple to Barney on a ball bounced over third and into the LF corner that Marte couldn't handle cleanly. After a pop out, Borbon walked; Grilli has been deep in counts to all the Cubs and is at 26 pitches this inning. Castro went with a slider away and blooped it into right to score Barney and put Cubs at the co

On a night that was hot, then rainy, then blustery, Travis Snider’s swing was the real force of nature. Travis Snider hit his second home run on the season, a grand slam and eventual game-winner. (Photo credit: David Hague) With the bases loaded in the 6th, Snider turned on a change-up that reliever Shawn Camp left elevated in the strike zone. The ball just enough lift to fly 389 feet into the first row of seats in right-center field and give the Pirates a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. Snider gave a curtain call to the (supposed) 16,092 fans at PNC Park to mark his first career grand slam. Snider’s shot was part of a 6th inning in which the Bucs (27-18) sent 11 hitters to the plate, got five hits and erased the great season debut of Cubs starter Matt Garza. Once Garza (five scoreless innings, one hit, three walks) was away, the Pirates went to play. Neil Walker led off the 6th with a double just inside the right-field line off Hector Rondon, who then loaded the bases by allowing Garrett Jones to hit a bloop single and walking Russell Martin. Left-hander James Russell was brought in to face Pedro Alvarez, and he walked his only batter on seven pitches. Camp jogged in and got Gaby Sanchez to fly out to left field, short enough that Jones did not test Alfonso Soriano’s arm. But Snider arrived as a pinch-hitter for Clint Barmes and struck on a 2-1 pitch for the slam. It was the Pirates’ first pinch-hit grand slam since Jason Michaels delivered one in 2008. Relievers Justin Wilson and Mark Melancon each pitched a scoreless inning in support of Wandy Rodriguez’s quality start (6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 5 K), giving Rodriguez his team-high fifth win of the season. The Cubs (18-26) got back-to-back singles off Justin Wilson with one out in the 7th inning, but the left-hander struck out Julio Borbon and got Starlin Castro to ground out to smother the fire. In the 9th, though, the Cubs tested closer Jason Grilli by getting 90 feet from scoring the tying run. With two men aboard, Castro hit a single to right field to put Chicago with one run. Grilli struck out Anthony Rizzo to finish up his league-leading 18th save. The Cubs got out to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning off Rodriguez. Soriano and Wellington Castillo picked up the game’s first two hits, then Darwin Barney hit a sharp grounder through the left side on a 1-2 pitch to score Soriano with two outs. Next batter Matt Garza drove a ripe fastball into the right-center gap to drive in two. Those were all the runs Chicago’s meager offense could muster until the 9th, despite 11 total hits. Garza delivered great results in his 2013 debut, but only lasted five innings and 82 pitches due to the 90-pitch limit set by manager Dale Sveum. Despite getting into seven three-ball counts, Garza pitched around trouble in the 4th and 5th innings to keep the Pirates off the board. But Chicago’s bullpen was there to squander the day for it starting pitcher.

Tuesday's games: -- Indianapolis lost a wild game to Pawtucket, 9-8. Indians' pitchers allowed only six hits, but the team was done in by seven walks and five errors. Three of the latter were by Tony Sanchez, including two wild pickoff throws. Andy Oliver started and gave up only four hits in five innings while striking out six. He walked four, though, and was charged with six runs, three earned. Duke Welker struggled for the third straight time, giving up three runs in an inning and two-thirds on two hits and three walks. To make matters worse, Vic Black left the game with an as-yet unknown injury after retiring one batter. Sanchez did better at the plate, going 2-2 with two walks and his fourth HR. He's now hitting 310/425/550. Matt Hague and Josh Harrison each went 3-5, with Hague getting three doubles and Harrison two. Jerry Sands also went 3-5, with a double and his third HR, all coming in the last four games. Jared Goedert hit his fifth HR. -- Charlie Morton had an OK rehab start, but Altoona still lost to Reading, 3-0. Morton went four and two-thirds, throwing 48 of 80 pitches for strikes. He gave up two runs on four hits and two walks, and fanned three. The Altoona offense managed only four singles and fanned 11 times. An indication of just how bad the Curve hitters are: Not only is Altoona last in the Eastern League in OPS, the Curve trail the second-worst team by more than the second-worst team trails the best team. Gift Ngoepe and Adalberto Santos both left early in the game for unknown reasons. -- Bradenton also got shut out, 7-0, by Tampa. Starter Robby Rowland allowed only two hits in five innings, but he had a control meltdown in the 1st that led to four runs. Overall he walked four and fanned two, and was charged with five runs, four earned. Like Altoona, Bradenton had just five singles. Alen Hanson went 1-4 and Gregory Polanco 2-4. -- Stetson Allie (pictured), Dilson Herrera and Max Moroff led the offense as West Virginia walloped Kannapolis, 9-3. Allie homered twice and walked in four ABs. He now has a dozen HRs on the year. Herrera went 3-5 with his fourth HR and four RBIs. Moroff went 2-4 with a walk. Josh Bell went 0-5. Orlando Castro had another strong start, posting six shutout innings and allowing only two hits. He walked one and struck out four. Ryan Hafner struggled in the 8th and 9th, and wasn't able to finish. He went two and two-thirds, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks, while fanning three. Even with the poor outing, Hafner's allowed only 20 hits in 27.1 IP while striking out 37.

Five of seven from the Brewers and Astros was an acceptable outcome. More would've been nice, but this is baseball. No one wins every day. The schedule is about to get a little bit tougher, though, so getting at least two wins from the Cubs here would be a pretty big thing. Matt Garza makes his 2013 debut tonight, so it'd be nice to see the Pirates wear him out early and get into the Cubbie bullpen and wreak some havoc. Wandy Rodriguez seems to have snapped out of his mini-funk and he starts for the Bucs. Starling Marte has the night off, but Andrew McCutchen is back in the lineup. First pitch is at 7:05.