RECAP - Pirates - 5 / Marlins - 4

Neil Walker is Returning to his "Pre Injury" Pace

Pittsburgh Pirates - 5
Miami Marlins - 4 (10 innings)

WP - Jared Hughes
LP - Ames

I remember when people on Twitter would use the hash tag "Battlin' Bucs" and I would chuckle in years past.  2 years ago this team was an aberration of a "winner" that played their hearts out and had nothing left in the second half.  Last season was a team that didn't have the pitching depth, and relied too heavily on the HR ball to generate offense, and they crapped out early too.  Not quite "Battlin' Bucs" material if you ask me.  This year though, is the team that can carry that moniker with pride.  This Pittsburgh Pirates team has come from behind in 28 games and won the baseball game.  Thursday's "get out of town game" against the Marlins was #28, and boy was it sweet.  Gerrit Cole had the unfortunate task of going against the young phenom pitcher, Jose Fernandez, but the Pirates bats were able to work the count and chase the stud pitcher after 5 innings due to his pitch total well over the century mark.  If that was the game plan heading into the game, then it certainly worked.  A game where it looked like Clint Hurdle sent out the 'B' squad...these Buccos pulled out a gritty win as I've ever seen.

With players like Tony Sanchez, Josh Harrison, Alex Presley, and Clint Barmes all inserted into the lineup, Pirates fans all took to Twitter to vent about the Bucco manager's decision.  Just go back and read the first sentence of this recap and it proves it's worth again...these are the "Battlin' Bucs".  When someone like Andrew McCutchen is taken out of the lineup before the game due to "shoulder soreness" odds are that the offense is going to struggle.  Not this year.  Neil Walker goes 3-3, Starling Marte 2-4, and next thing you know the Pirates have scratched and clawed their way back from being 4-0 and are sending the game into extra innings.  Listening to the game, I asked myself, are the Pirates going to walk this thing off for the 2nd time in 3 games?  Ask Mr. Russell Martin and he would say "You bet your A$$ we are!"  With Josh Harrison standing on second, Martin send a groundball between the third baseman and the bag scoring the game winning run. 

The 5-4 win marked the Pirates' 70th win of the season and extending their winning streak to 5 games, and their lead in the NL Central to 4 games over the St. Louis Cardinals, and 7 games over the Cincinnati Reds.  All signs point to the Pirates sticking around for a while, but a long road trip awaits. 

8/9 - 8:40 - Pirates @ Rockies - Liriano vs. De La Rosa
8/10 - 8:10 - Pirates @ Rockies - Burnett vs. Nicasio
8/11 - 4:10 - Pirates @ Rockies - Locke vs. Bettis