[Operation Shutdown]

The Pirates have announced their promotion schedule for the month of April.

4/10 - Fireworks night against the Brewers
4/15 - Cap Day against the Mets
4/23 - Glove Day against the Giants
4/26 - Noddin Head Doll Day against the Dodgers

Week 2:
This week the Pirates will start out at home with a three game series against the Brewers. They will then go to Chicago for a three-game series against the Cubs.

Game 7: Pirates 1 Brewers 3
Another game lost by the bullpen. Pirates starter Kip Wells went 7 innings only giving up one run. Mark Corey got two outs and Scott Sauerbeck got the other out for a scoreless eighth inning. In the top of the ninth Jim Mann loaded the bases with nobody out and John VanderWal came through with a two-run single. Mann then got the next batter to ground out, and then got the next batter to line out into a double play, but the damage had already been done and he picked up the loss. The Pirate offense was pretty anemic as they managed only five hits off of Brewers starter Wayne Franklin, who went 6 innings giving up only one run. Reliever Mike DeJean picked up the win, as he recorded the last out in the bottom of the eighth. Luis Vizcaino picked up the save pitching a scoreless 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Game 8: Pirates 3 Brewers 5
The Pirates were leading this one 3-1 heading into the seventh, thanks to 3 RBI's from Brian Giles. Two of which came off of a double in the third inning, and the other from a solo homerun in the bottom of the sixth. Starter Josh Fogg entered the seventh inning having only given up one run, but Enrique Cruz started the inning off with a solo homerun. After getting the next two batters to ground out, CF Alex Sanchez hit a solo shot to deep right center. Then after Eric Young singled, Richie Sexson smashed a homer to deep left center. Fogg gave up three homers in one inning and went on to get the loss giving up five earned runs in 7 innings of work. Brewers starter Ruben Quevedo got the win giving up 3 runs in six innings, and Luis Vizcaino picked up his third save of the year.

Game 9: Pirates 3 Brewers 6 Fireworks Night at PNC Park
The Brewers got to the Pirates and starter Jeff Suppan quickly in this game, as Royce Clayton hit a three run homer in the first inning. Then in the third inning the Brewers scored three more runs, two of them coming from a John VanderWal homerun. Suppan lasted only 3 innings giving up 6 runs, five of which were earned. On a bright note, the bullpen did well, as Beimel pitched three scoreless inning, Corey had one scoreless, and Sauerbeck pitched the remaining two scoreless innings, giving up only two hits in those six relief innings. Giles also hit his second homer of the year, a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth off Vizcaino. Brewers starter Glendon Rusch was injured with an inflamed bicep tendon after only pitching to Kenny Lofton and getting him to ground out. He was placed on the DL after the game was over. Reliever Scott Nance picked up the win after only pitching 2/3 of an inning, and Valerio DeLosSantos picked up his first save of the year.

Series Recap: Each team came into the series with the worst record in the NL Central at 1-5. The Brewers swept the Pirates and are now sitting at only one game below .500, while the Pirates are trying to compete with the Blue Jays (0-9) and the Padres (1-9) for the worst record in the majors.

Game 10: Pirates 7 Cubs 2 Retro Game Day at Wrigley
The Pirates definitely went retro with this one, as Jeff D'Amico is proving to be the only consistent starter for the Pirates. He pitched seven innings giving up just two runs on 4 hits and 4 walks. Kenny Lofton had a big day going 3-5 with two doubles and 4 RBI's. Cubs starter Shawn Estes picked up the loss giving up 5 runs in five innings. Pirates reliever Scott Sauerbek was injured in the game with a tight shoulder and is listed as day-to-day.

Game 11: Pirates 2 Cubs 11
Starter Kris Benson got shelled in his second straight outing, giving up seven runs in two innings, all of which occurred in the second inning. Corey Patterson and Sammy Sosa each had two run homers in that inning and Ramon Martinez had a three run shot. Cubs starter Kerry Wood pitched only 5 2/3 innings giving up just one run off of one hit, while walking three and striking out six. There was a 60 minute rain delay in the third inning of the game.

Game 12: Pirates 2 Cubs 5
Nothing too terribly exciting in this game. Starter Kip Wells pitched a complete game for the Pirates going 8 innings and giving up five runs, three of which were scored in the bottom of the seventh. Why a reliever wasn't put in, I really don't know. Kenny Lofton had another big day offensively, going 4-4, but he did not manage to get a single RBI and scored only once on a single by Brian Giles in the third inning. Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano got the win giving up two runs in seven innings, and Mike Remlinger picked up the save, his second of the season.

Series Recap: Pretty much what I expected heading into this series against a much better ball club. D'Amico pitched a heck of a game, and Benson's performance so far has been real disappointing (0-2 8.62 ERA). I usually like to wait at least a month before I start making trades just to see who i want to keep around on a team, but I think it's pretty clear that some trades are going to start happening, unless the Pirates start winning some games.

In other news around the league, Rockies 1B Todd Helton ruptured his MCL and will miss the entire season. Also, the Blue Jays finally won their first game against the Twins after losing their first 11 games this season. However, they do not have the worst record in the majors, as that honor goes to the San Diego Padres who are 1-12.