Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals: Regular season results – MLB July 2011
Ending the series with Cincinnati Reds on a positive note, Pittsburgh Pirates finally had some luck as they improved their win-loss record to some extent. A few weeks ago, for the first time in 12 years, the Pirates had managed to get over the break-even
point (.500 win-loss record). But Clint Hurdle and his men lost their track completely afterwards as they had managed to win only six out of their last 22 games in Major League Baseball.
The Pirates next faced St. Louis Cardinals in a three match series. However, they were unable to live up to the expectations in the opening two games and the Cardinals secured a decisive 2-0 series lead. Bouncing back strongly, they clinched a thrilling
final game to restore some lost dignity.
Clint Hurdle’s side had their chances in game one of the series but they wasted too many opportunities during the contest. Really, they had only themselves to be blamed after the loss. Albert Pujols was absolutely brilliant for the Cardinals as he went 4-for-5
and hit his 27th home-run at PNC Park to lift his team to an important 6-4 win over the Pirates.
"Let me tell you, look at all ballparks, he does it every place he plays," said St. Louis’ manager Tony La Russa. "He's just a phenomenal hitter. There's nothing special about here; he just hits everywhere."
Chris Carpenter led the pitching pack as he allowed only four runs in eight innings to win his fourth straight decision. Pirates’ manager, Clint Hurdle, on the other hand, was disappointed with the way things went for his team during the contest. He was
quick to admit the flaws and aimed to comeback with a stronger attitude to give the fans something to cheer about.
"I thought (Maholm) made some adjustments the deeper he got into the game," said Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle. "I thought he got much better rhythm, much better tempo, much better location."
"Throughout the season that's the way we've had to do it, that's the way we'll continue to plan on doing it," he further added in a post game interview.
The Pirates were hammered in game two of the series as they suffered yet another series defeat. Losing 1-9 in a completely one sided game, they failed to execute their game plan. On a hitter-friendly park, the batters were unable to make the most of available
opportunities to let the Cardinals secure a comfortable win.
Making a comeback, the Pirates responded brilliantly in the third and final game to end the series solidly. Xavier Paul, Ronny Cedeno and rookie catcher Eric Fryer helped the Pirates rally past their rivals 4-3 in a nail biting encounter.
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