Pittsburgh Pirates annihilate Houston Astros 11-2 at PNC Park – MLB Update
Pittsburgh Pirates annihilated Houston Astros 11-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Monday, July 2 in the opening game of their four match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Clint Hurdle and his men dominated the Astros in all departments of the game that was extremely crucial for them. The win allowed them to stay within touching distance of National League Central Division leaders Cincinnati Reds.
Astros, on the other hand, looked short of answers despite taking an early 1-0 lead. Starting pitcher Jordan Lyles had a forgettable time on the mound as he gave up nine hits and seven runs in just four innings and the Pirates took complete control of the
contest.
His counterpart from the Pirates, James McDonald showed just what he is capable of as he struck-out four in seven effective innings. Allowing just four hits and two runs, he created all sorts of problems for Houston’s offence.
"Our lineup is amazing right now," McDonald said. "It's like every guy is a tough out. Nobody is an easy out in our lineup right now."
"When we go out the first few innings and don't put some runs on the board, we know it's OK because we know it's just a matter of time before things start to click for us," McCutchen said. "It's the way things are starting to seem. We're starting to get
that confidence in each other, starting to get that belief."
Garrett Jones and Neil Walker played a key role in deciding the outcome of the game as they hit back-to-back home-runs in the fourth inning to help the Pirates claim a decisive 4-1 lead.
"It was cool to see Walker do it right after me," Jones said.
Andrew McCutchen, Jones and Walker continued to take advantage of Astros’ poor pitches to register an emphatic win.
Right now, the Pirates are just one game behind the Reds and it will be interesting to see if Hurdle and company can sweep the Astros in this series to grab first place on the league standings. Houston Astros will be looking to improve their rotation and
work hard on their line-up to become more competitive in this series.
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