Pittsburgh Pirates: Regular season results – MLB September 2011 - Part 2
Earning a 2-1 series win against Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates had done an amazing job to end their four match losing streak. It was their first series win in Major League Baseball after two weeks and they were looking in a very confident mood.
Clint Hurdle and his men were looking to maintain their decent form in their next three match series against Houston Astros as well to gain some sort of momentum.
The Pirates were the leading NL Central team a few weeks ago as they displayed some high quality baseball in the first few months of the 2011 regular season. Losing track completely, they managed to win only eight out of 31 games in the month of August. Hurdle’s team now had an excellent opportunity to end the season on a positive note to give their fans something to cheer about.
Showing great determination, temperament and character on the field, the Pirates humbled the Astros in game one of the series. In a display of some excellent team work, they dominated their rivals in almost all aspects of the game.
It was an important win for the Pirates as they now had to win only one of the next two games to earn their second straight series win, some rare good news for Pittsburgh supporters.
James McDonald pitched with great control and accuracy as he earned his ninth win of the season to lead the Pirates to an impressive 3-1 win. The Astros, on the other hand, made too many unforced errors during the contest, which eventually led to their downfall.
Team manager, Clint Hurdle was absolutely delighted with the way his men conducted themselves on the field. They played an aggressive brand of baseball. Pressurising the opposition, they executed their game plan to perfection.
"Poise is the word I kept using over and over in the dugout to describe Aaron," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "He had a slow heartbeat. He looked polished out there, like he had done it a number of times. He stepped into a difficult situation against a really good team and did well. We're proud of him."
Although the Pirates lost their way a bit in the second game (losing 1-4), they bounced back superbly in the decider. Showing no sign of nerves in a nail biting encounter, they clinched a memorable 5-4 win to complete a deserving series victory. Houston’s pitchers leaked runs at crucial stages of the game, which played a big part in deciding the outcome of the match. The Pirates were beginning to show everyone their fighting spirit as they battled it out with some of the top tier teams in the League.
Continued in part 3
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