Pittsburgh Pirates crush Colorado Rockies 9-6 to take series – MLB Update
Pittsburgh Pirates put up another dominant show as they beat the Colorado Rockies 9-6 at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, July 18 in the finale of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Credit should be given to the starting pitcher James McDonald who created all sorts of problems for the Rockies’ offence. Looking extremely comfortable on the mound, McDonald pitched five effective innings. Overall, he gave up nine hits and six runs with
two strike-outs to grab his tenth win of the season.
"I'm comfortable being uncomfortable here," McDonald said. "Seeing almost a thousand games in this park, it does make it easy. You don't get out there too quick, you don't overreact, you don't under-react, you just try to react appropriately."
Pedro Alvarez added a solo home-run to left in the second to keep the Pirates in the game.
First baseman Garrett Jones finished with three hits, including two home-runs. Rod Barajas and Casey McGehee also homered as the Pirates gave their fans plenty to cheer about.
"It's nice to jump back in the game and take the life out of the other team with one swing of the bat," McGehee said.
Rockies’ starter Jeremy Guthrie struggled with his fastballs right from the start. He was pulled off by the skipper after he gave six runs in just over two innings.
The Rockies will be disappointed with the outcome of the series. After edging Pittsburgh 5-4 in series opener, they had an excellent chance to build on some much needed confidence.
A large number of unforced errors in Game 2 did not help the cause and the Pirates pounced on the opportunity to level the series. Pittsburgh is building in confidence and has surprised many critics with their excellent game-play and positive attitude. The
team will be looking for a possible spot in the post-season as they continue building up some good form.
Clint Hurdle and company continued their domination on Wednesday to improve their record to 51-40. This win also sent them to the top of National League Central Division standings and it will be interesting to see if they can maintain their winning streak
in the upcoming games to consolidate their position.
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