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Operation Shutdown · 10-20-2003, 11:57 AM

Week 8
The Pirates are now 25-19 and in third place in the central division, just 3 games back of the Cubs. The Pirates start the week off in Cincinatti, wrapping up the four-game series against the Reds and looking for the sweep. The Pirates announced that they have released 1B Carlos Rivera and promoted 1B Ray Navarette from AAA to the pro roster. Rivera was hitting just 0.118 with 1 HR and 3 RBIs, while Navarette has been tearing up the PCL, hitting 0.367 with 6 HRs and 39 RBIs for Nashville.

Game 45: Pirates 9 Reds 2
Dave Williams continues to have a stellar season, giving up just two runs in seven innings for his 4th win. Oswalt lasted just 1 2/3 innings, giving up two runs, before being pulled due to an injury. He left with sharp pain in his shoulder, and doctors discovered bone chips in his shoulder which will put him out for the rest of the season. The Pirates added five insurance runs in the ninth inning, including a grand slam by Marshall McDougall, who is still being used as a bench player despite hitting above 0.400.

The Pirates now travel to Chicago to play a three-game series against the first-place Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are 28-16, 2.5 games above the Pirates, and the Pirates are just 2-4 against the Cubs so far this season. The Cubs are led by a terrific pitching staff that includes Mark Prior (5-3 2.07), Joe Kennedy (4-4 3.32), Steve Smyth (4-3 4.04), and Carlos Zambrano (3-1 3.72). The Cubs offense is still powered by RF Sammy Sosa who is hitting 0.303 with 9 HRs and 37 RBIs.

Game 46: Pirates 4 Cubs 1 Baseball Cap Day at Wrigley Field
Ponson picked up his NL leading 8th win, giving up just one run in eight innings. Smyth also pitched well for the Cubs, giving up three runs, just one of which was earned, in 7 1/3 innings, but picked up the loss. JJ Davis picked up his team leading 10th homerun in the game, and Mann pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 9th save of the season.

Game 47: Pirates 1 Cubs 6 Fireworks Night at Wrigley Field
Benson didn't have his greatest game today, as he gave up four runs, three of them earned, in just six innings of work. Meanwhile, Zambrano continues to pitch very well, picking up his fourth win while giving up just one run in 8 innings. Sosa and Davis each homered in the game. In his first start, 1B Ray Navarette collected his first hit off of Zambrano, going 1-3 today.

Game 48: Pirates 0 Cubs 3
Perez pitched a very good game, giving up just one run in seven innings, but he picked up the loss, as Thomson pitched seven scoreless innings for the win. The Cubs added two insurance runs in the eighth inning, when Sosa hit a two run homerun off of Mark Corey. The Pirates tried to threaten in the ninth inning, with runners at first and second with one out, Kolb got McDogall to ground into a double play to end the game, and earn him his 15th save of the season.

Atlanta's Adam Eaton pitched a no-hit shutout while walking 1 and striking out 4 against the Expos as the Braves won the game 15-0.

Series Recap: The Pirates continue to have trouble against the Cubs, once again winning just one out of three, but they are still well within grasp of the central, just 3.5 games back.

The Pirates finish out the week, traveling to Houston for a three game series against the Astros who are 22-26 and whom the Pirates haven't yet played this season. The once formidable Astros rotation now has Jose Contreras (4-5 4.83) and Brendan Duckworth (3-3 4.36) as their top starters, though Freddy Garcia (4-3 3.42) is scheduled to come off of the DL and start against the Pirates this series. Austin Kearns is the top hitter on the Astros hitting 0.269 with 6 HRs and 25 RBIs.

Game 49: Pirates 13 Astros 1
VanBenSchoten continues to shine, as he pitched a complete game, giving up just four hits and no walks while striking out nine, and just one run, a homerun in the seventh inning, for his 6th win of the season. Contreras really struggled, giving up six runs, three of them earned, in 2 2/3 innings for the loss. The Pirates hit three homeruns, including a grand slam by Craig Wilson off of Chen in the seventh inning.

Game 50: Pirates 4 Astros 0
Dave Williams had another great start, pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up just four hits, while walking three and striking out 3 for his 5th win of the season. Talbot gave up four runs in seven innings, for his 4th loss of the season. MR Mark Corey was injured in the game and will miss the next five weeks with a strained back muscle. MR Justin Reid was promoted from AAA to take his place in the bullpen.

Game 51: Pirates 4 Astros 12
Ponson was due, and he finally had a poor start, giving up seven runs off of 7 hits, including four homeruns, and lasted just 5 1/3 innings for his third loss of the season. Garcia in his first start back from the DL did well, giving up just three runs in 8 innings of work for his 5th win of the season.

Series Recap: Well, 2 out of 3 surely isn't bad, leaving the Pirates up one game above .500 for the week, but keeping them in third place behind the Cardinals and the Cubs.

Around the league, on Wednesday Montreal's Amaury Telemaco shut out the Braves on a one-hitter as the Expos won the game 2-0. On Thursday, as mentioned earlier, Atlanta returned the favor as Adam Eaton pitched a no hitter against the Expos as the Braves won 15-0. Also on Thursday, Toronto's right-handed hurler Brandon League fired a 2-hit shutout against the A's as the Blue Jays won the game 9-0. On Friday, Tampa Bay's 1B Mike Cuddyer suffered a strained ACL and will miss the next 4-5 weeks.

10-20-2003, 11:57 AM	#16
Operation Shutdown All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 912	Week 8 The Pirates are now 25-19 and in third place in the central division, just 3 games back of the Cubs. The Pirates start the week off in Cincinatti, wrapping up the four-game series against the Reds and looking for the sweep. The Pirates announced that they have released 1B Carlos Rivera and promoted 1B Ray Navarette from AAA to the pro roster. Rivera was hitting just 0.118 with 1 HR and 3 RBIs, while Navarette has been tearing up the PCL, hitting 0.367 with 6 HRs and 39 RBIs for Nashville. Game 45: Pirates 9 Reds 2 Dave Williams continues to have a stellar season, giving up just two runs in seven innings for his 4th win. Oswalt lasted just 1 2/3 innings, giving up two runs, before being pulled due to an injury. He left with sharp pain in his shoulder, and doctors discovered bone chips in his shoulder which will put him out for the rest of the season. The Pirates added five insurance runs in the ninth inning, including a grand slam by Marshall McDougall, who is still being used as a bench player despite hitting above 0.400. The Pirates now travel to Chicago to play a three-game series against the first-place Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are 28-16, 2.5 games above the Pirates, and the Pirates are just 2-4 against the Cubs so far this season. The Cubs are led by a terrific pitching staff that includes Mark Prior (5-3 2.07), Joe Kennedy (4-4 3.32), Steve Smyth (4-3 4.04), and Carlos Zambrano (3-1 3.72). The Cubs offense is still powered by RF Sammy Sosa who is hitting 0.303 with 9 HRs and 37 RBIs. Game 46: Pirates 4 Cubs 1 Baseball Cap Day at Wrigley Field Ponson picked up his NL leading 8th win, giving up just one run in eight innings. Smyth also pitched well for the Cubs, giving up three runs, just one of which was earned, in 7 1/3 innings, but picked up the loss. JJ Davis picked up his team leading 10th homerun in the game, and Mann pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 9th save of the season. Game 47: Pirates 1 Cubs 6 Fireworks Night at Wrigley Field Benson didn't have his greatest game today, as he gave up four runs, three of them earned, in just six innings of work. Meanwhile, Zambrano continues to pitch very well, picking up his fourth win while giving up just one run in 8 innings. Sosa and Davis each homered in the game. In his first start, 1B Ray Navarette collected his first hit off of Zambrano, going 1-3 today. Game 48: Pirates 0 Cubs 3 Perez pitched a very good game, giving up just one run in seven innings, but he picked up the loss, as Thomson pitched seven scoreless innings for the win. The Cubs added two insurance runs in the eighth inning, when Sosa hit a two run homerun off of Mark Corey. The Pirates tried to threaten in the ninth inning, with runners at first and second with one out, Kolb got McDogall to ground into a double play to end the game, and earn him his 15th save of the season. Atlanta's Adam Eaton pitched a no-hit shutout while walking 1 and striking out 4 against the Expos as the Braves won the game 15-0. Series Recap: The Pirates continue to have trouble against the Cubs, once again winning just one out of three, but they are still well within grasp of the central, just 3.5 games back. The Pirates finish out the week, traveling to Houston for a three game series against the Astros who are 22-26 and whom the Pirates haven't yet played this season. The once formidable Astros rotation now has Jose Contreras (4-5 4.83) and Brendan Duckworth (3-3 4.36) as their top starters, though Freddy Garcia (4-3 3.42) is scheduled to come off of the DL and start against the Pirates this series. Austin Kearns is the top hitter on the Astros hitting 0.269 with 6 HRs and 25 RBIs. Game 49: Pirates 13 Astros 1 VanBenSchoten continues to shine, as he pitched a complete game, giving up just four hits and no walks while striking out nine, and just one run, a homerun in the seventh inning, for his 6th win of the season. Contreras really struggled, giving up six runs, three of them earned, in 2 2/3 innings for the loss. The Pirates hit three homeruns, including a grand slam by Craig Wilson off of Chen in the seventh inning. Game 50: Pirates 4 Astros 0 Dave Williams had another great start, pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up just four hits, while walking three and striking out 3 for his 5th win of the season. Talbot gave up four runs in seven innings, for his 4th loss of the season. MR Mark Corey was injured in the game and will miss the next five weeks with a strained back muscle. MR Justin Reid was promoted from AAA to take his place in the bullpen. Game 51: Pirates 4 Astros 12 Ponson was due, and he finally had a poor start, giving up seven runs off of 7 hits, including four homeruns, and lasted just 5 1/3 innings for his third loss of the season. Garcia in his first start back from the DL did well, giving up just three runs in 8 innings of work for his 5th win of the season. Series Recap: Well, 2 out of 3 surely isn't bad, leaving the Pirates up one game above .500 for the week, but keeping them in third place behind the Cardinals and the Cubs. Around the league, on Wednesday Montreal's Amaury Telemaco shut out the Braves on a one-hitter as the Expos won the game 2-0. On Thursday, as mentioned earlier, Atlanta returned the favor as Adam Eaton pitched a no hitter against the Expos as the Braves won 15-0. Also on Thursday, Toronto's right-handed hurler Brandon League fired a 2-hit shutout against the A's as the Blue Jays won the game 9-0. On Friday, Tampa Bay's 1B Mike Cuddyer suffered a strained ACL and will miss the next 4-5 weeks. __________________ "And Shepherds we shall be, For thee, my Lord, for thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, Our feet may swiftly carry out Thy commands. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee, And teeming with souls shall it ever be. In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti."