A. J. Burnett shines as Pittsburgh Pirates thrash Miami Marlins 5-1 at PNC Park – MLB Update
A.J. Burnett had another excellent outing as the Pittsburgh Pirates crushed Miami Marlins 5-1 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 21 in second game of their three match series.
Burnett is still undefeated at PNC Park this season. He gave up just a run in seven plus effective innings on Saturday to lead the Pirates to their season high fourth consecutive win.
"I can't remember an inning like that," Pirates’ short-stop Clint Barmes said of the fourth inning. "That was a pretty crazy inning, to score the runs we did in the way we did."
"What's not dominant about retiring guys, giving up eight hits but only giving up one run?" Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "That's dominant."
Another incredible performance from the starting pitcher helped the Pirates improve their record 53-40, which left them just one game behind the National League Central Division leaders, Cincinnati Reds.
The running season is turning out to be an excellent one for the Pirates, who haven’t made it to the playoffs since 1992.
Pirates’ last World Series triumph was recorded in 1979 and it will be interesting to see if Skipper Hurdle can inspire them to go on and win the World Series finals this year.
Marlins, on the other hand, looked short of answers against a quality starting pitcher. They will be hoping for a change of fortune in the finale to avoid an embarrassing series sweep.
Garrett Jones made the most of available opportunities on the plate as he grounded out to second in the first inning and left-fielder Alex Presley scored to put the Pirates 1-0 ahead.
Centre-fielder Justin Ruggiano homered to right in the second to level the score 1-1 for the Marlins. However, apart from him none of Miami’s hitters could cope with the dipping fastballs from Burnett.
"I'm not pitching the way I'm supposed to pitch," Marlins’ starter Carlos Zambrano said. "I'm not doing my job. It's terrible."
Jones and Presley continued to put pressure on their opponents, driving in crucial runs to extend Pirates lead to 4-1. Casey McGehee walked in the fourth to wrap up a superb Pittsburgh’s win.
Tags: