Paul Maholm’s pitching helps Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Houston Astros 5-3 – MLB Update
Pittsburgh Pirates’ starter, Paul Maholm was amazing with the ball as he pitched six innings with an ERA of 3.08 and had three strike-outs in the Pirates’ 5-3 win against the Houston Astros at PNC Park, Pittsburgh on July 4.
The Astros started pretty well as they scored their initial run to get a 1-0 lead in the very first inning when Carlos Lee hit a sacrifice fly off centre-field and Jeff Keppinger posted a single run. The Pirates’ batters also opened their scoring account
and tied the game 1-1 during the second inning when Lyle Overbay added one run on the single-run shot of Mike McKenry towards left-field.
The game remained equal until the third inning as both the teams contributed two individual runs to move their score-cards 3-3. Keppinger added one run when Lee drove a single-run shot towards centre-field while Hunter Pence posted the second run on the
throwing error of the Pirates’ third baseman Josh Harrison.
On the other side, Chase D’ Arnaud contributed a single run when Andrew McCutchen doubled to deep centre-field. The tie run during the third inning was taken by McCutchen when Overbay hit a single-run shot off centre-field. In the fourth inning, Brandon
Wood moved to third base but Brett Myers was struck-out swinging and Michael Bourn grounded out to short-stop position.
Maholm gave up just three runs on five hits including one earned run and allowed three walks on his 92 pitches. Maholm commented on the game and said, “It's fun, but we need to continue to play well. In September, it will be a lot more fun. For any of us
who have been here, it's uncharted waters, but you're seeing a group that's having fun and likes playing in front of big crowds.”
Neil Walker singled towards right-field and D’Arnaud posted a tie-breaking run in the fifth inning to give the Pirates a 4-3 lead. During the sixth inning, Alex Presley tripled off deep centre-field and Wood added the last run of the game. The Pirates ended
the game with a 5-3 lead as the last three innings went without any run.
The Astros’ batters missed the scoring opportunities at the top of the ninth inning when Brett Wallace flied out to right-field and Bourn grounded out to second base. However, the Pirates picked up their ninth win in the previous 13 games.
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