Pittsburgh Pirates: Regular season results for July - MLB 2011 - Part 4
Ending the three match series with Houston Astros on a high note, Philadelphia Phillies had managed to keep their win-loss record over the breakeven point for the first time after twelve years. It was one brave effort from Clint Hurdle and his men. Handling
the pressure and nerves brilliantly, they were now 49-44.
Not many would have predicted that the weakest NL Central team would do so well, as they had struggled to find the right combination for years. Making a shaky start to their regular season, they came back strongly to restore all that lost pride. Team manager,
Hurdle aimed to continue their superb form in their following season with Cincinnati Reds as well.
The Pirates did exactly that as they hammered the Reds 2-0 in the opening game to take a 1-0 lead in the series. In addition to having a skillful offence, they had a rock solid defence which allowed them to take complete advantage of their rivals’ unforced
errors.
Pirates pitcher, Charlie Morton rolled to his first win in over a month and Philadelphia secured a deserving win. Morton said, “I could kind of reflect on what I was doing out on the mound and kick myself a little bit to get it going.”
Showing no signs of slowing down, the Pirates raised their game to even a higher level in game two of the series to take a decisive 2-0 lead. Holding their nerves in a thrilling contest, they finally showed what they are really capable of. Joe Beimel and
Jay Bruce delivered for their side and the Pirates became the leading NL Central team.
Beimel said, “If I would have made the pitch I wanted he would have fouled it off or blooped it over somebody's head or something. It just worked out where it was so bad he couldn't do anything with it.”
However, they were unable to live up to expectations in the third and final game of the series. Wasting a large number of opportunities during the contest, the Pirates let the opposition team take control of the contest. The Reds, on the other hand, took
complete advantage of the situation as the eased past the Pirates 3-1 to end the series on a positive note.
Cueto said, “What I was thinking is, we need to win today, and I give a good game, a quality start. The team will help me with runs and we can get a win.”
Johnny Cueto was the leader of the pack for Cincinnati as he gave up one run in six innings, improving his ERA to 1.98. His sixth win in the season helped the Pirates find a way to punch back against the surprising NL Central-leading side.
Continued in part 5
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