Pittsburgh Pirates: Regular season results – MLB August 2011 - Part 3
Securing their first series win after almost three weeks, Pittsburgh Pirates had done a remarkable job to floor such a strong team as the San Francisco Giants. Hammering their opponents 5-0 in the opening game, they ended their ten match losing streak in
great fashion.
Although they lost their track a bit in the second game, the Pirates bounced back strongly in the third and final game to improve their win-loss record to 56-60. The Pirates were the leading NL Central team in the middle of July but they experienced a huge
slump in form.
Clint Hurdle and his men were hoping to give decent results throughout the month of August to end the season with a .500 win-loss record for the first time since 1999. However, they needed to bring more consistency into their game play to achieve their goals.
Unable to handle the pressure, the Pirates were thrashed in game one of the three match series with the Milwaukee Brewers. The hitters failed to convert the scoring opportunities in a hitter friendly ballpark and the Brewers secured a comprehensive 7-2 win
to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
It was a disappointing loss for the Pirates considering they had ended their previous series on a very positive note.
For Milwaukee, Zack Greinke pitched with control and accuracy as he threw effectively into the eighth inning to lead the NL-Central leading Brewers to an important win.
"It makes it easier when you're out there when you've got a lead and then we kept piling on," said Greinke. "We play really good at home, I don't know why."
Even Pirates’ manager, Clint Hurdle commented that Greinke was so good that he had to take a look from a different angle.
"I even came up a couple times in between innings just to check it out to see what it looked like from the home plate monitor," Hurdle said. "Very impressive outing."
The Pirates were unable to up their game play in game two of the series as well. Making too many unforced errors during the contest, they really had themselves to be blamed.
Marco Estrada pitched five innings at the start and Yuniesky Betancourt homered to help the Brewers take a decisive 2-0 lead. Clint Hurdle was disappointed with the way things went for his side but he aimed to comeback stronger in the final game.
"We needed to find a way to score that run and we didn't do it. You give their closer some credit, but that's an opportunity that we need to cash in." Hurdle said in a post-game interview.
Despite putting up a valiant fight in third game, the Pirates fell short of their targets again and Milwaukee Brewers completed a comprehensive series win to damage the Pirate’s win-loss record to 56-63.
Continued in part 4
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