RECAP - Pirates - 5 / Rockies - 1

AJ Burnett Salutes the Crowd After
A Dominating Performance vs the
Rockies

Pittsburgh Pirates - 5
Colorado Rockies - 1

WP - AJ Burnett
LP - Nicasio

In the rubber match between the Buccos and the Rockies, AJ Burnett took the mound in hopes that his offense will FINALLY provide some run support.  He got just that from the Pirates bats Sunday.  Before I go any further, its seems to me like there is just something about those Pirates throwbacks that I really like.  Is it the lack of a belt?  Is it the nostalgia to the Pirates "Winning Day", or is it just something different that at least doesn't have the color red in it...either way, those uniforms are pretty awesome, in my opinion.   Okay, back to baseball.  AJ Burnett has been getting some bad publicity from the media for his run in with umpires, for him telling the Bull Pen to sit down, and for his confrontation with Clint Hurdle.  All the while that this publicity has been ongoing, Burnett has been an extremely reliable starter for the Pirates.  Too many "vanilla" fans look at W-L and no further.  Burnett's W-L total isn't good.  The most recent win moves his record to 5-7, but his ERA is a stellar 2.73 as a career 3.00+ ERA pitcher.  Burnett is having a fantastic season on the mound and not just in allowing earned runs, but in his strikeouts.  He has 141 strikeouts this season, and in his last 2 starts has struck out 9.  There has been debate amongst the Pittsburgh media about who the ace of this staff is...Liriano or Burnett.  If you ask me, it doesn't matter.  These two guys are great stoppers for a slumping team, and guys that can dominate a game.  It just so happens that they are the only 2 pitchers to throw a complete game this season.  It couldn't have happened at a better time with the Pirates off today and giving the "Shark Tank" 2 days off...much needed rest for that group.

Aside from Burnett, the Pirates offense, although inconsistent, is starting to see some positive signs.  Starling Marte continues to struggle, but seems to be working at bats and finding creative ways to get one base, and when he does get on base, "Cutch" has been bringing him home.  McCutchen went 2-3 last night moving his BA to .307.  Sure, it isn't the June/July that he had in 2012, but you can't expect that every season.  McCutchen is doing his job in the #3 spot in the lineup and that is driving in runners and creating a spark when the team needs it.  Besides Marte and McCutchen, contributions for players like Russell Martin and Jose Tabata are much needed for this team to be successful.  All signs point to a potential "streak" as the Pirates play the Marlins at home, but pump the breaks before you go ahead and write 3 W's on your schedules at home.  Just rememeber what happened when the Pirates went to South Beach not to long ago...lost 2 of 3.  Lets hope that focuses the team as they attempt to stay ahead of the Cardinals and Reds.

8/6 - 7:05 - Pirates vs. Marlins - Locke vs. Alvarez
8/7 - 7:05 - Pirates vs. Marlins - Morton vs. Koehler
8/8 - 7:05 - Pirates vs. Marlins - Cole vs. Fernandez