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Operation Shutdown · 11-12-2003, 11:05 AM

Week 8
The Pirates begin this week finishing off their four game series against the Reds.

Game 45: Pirates 8 Reds 9
Bullington struggled in this outing, giving up five runs in 5 1/3. Howington pitched fairly well, giving up four runs in 7 innings. The Pirates were trailing 7-5 heading into the ninth when they managed to score three runs off of closer John Riedling to take the lead 8-7. Then in the bottom of the ninth, LaRue lead off with a double and Villalba followed with an infield single to put runners at the corners with no outs. Mann then seemed to have gotten out of the jam after getting Larson and Dunn to strike out. Hudson tied the game though with a single scoring Smithermon and moving Villalba to third to tie the game. Kielty then got the game winning hit when he singled home Villalba for the winning run. Mann picked up the loss and Wachman got the win.

After losing three of four to the Reds, the Pirates challenges mount as they travel to Chicago for a three game series against the Cubs who are 27-17 and whom the Pirates are 2-4 against. The Cubs have one of the best starting rotations in all of the majors with Mark Prior (6-2 1.82), Joe Kennedy (5-4 3.45), Jon Garland (2-4 4.85), and rookie Luke Hagerty (3-0 1.93). Their lineup isn't too bad either, with Dave Kelton (0.298 14 44), Sammy Sosa (0.259 7 22), and Mark Bellhorn (0.296 11 30) leading the way.

Game 46: Pirates 3 Cubs 2
Burnett finally picked up his first career ML win after giving up just two unearned runs in six innings. Garland gave up three runs in 8 1/3 innings for the loss. Craig Wilson scored the game winning run, a solo homerun in the seventh inning off of Garland. Mann pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 12th save of the season.

Game 47: Pirates 3 Cubs 4
Lopez pitched a really good game, giving up just two runs in seven innings, but the bullpen blew this one so he did not earn the win. Hagerty gave up three runs, two of them earned, in 6 1/3 innings and did not get a decision either. The Cubs were trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth. They led off the inning with a single by Bellhorn who was moved to second on a sacrifice by Dubois. White was then pulled and Mann came in and got Melian to strike out. He then walked Sickels and gave up a double to Davis that scored Bellhorn and Sickels to give the Cubs the lead. Ohman pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the Cubs, getting three straight groundouts to the shortstop for the save. Cruz picked up the win and Mann was charged with the loss.

Game 48: Pirates 3 Cubs 2 Fireworks Night at Wrigley Field
Both starters did fairly well, each giving up two runs, with VanBenSchoten lasting five innings and Thomson lasting 6 1/3 innings and neither got a decision. The Pirates got the winning run in the ninth inning. After getting two quick outs, Beltran walked Vic Butler. Bobby Hill made him pay with a double to left-center to score Butler, the winning run. Corey then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the save. White picked up the win and Beltran got the loss.

Series Recap: Just what the Pirates needed, a series win against the division leading Cubs puts them now 2.5 back. All three of those games could have went either way, each decided by just one run.

Next up, the Pirates travel to St. Louis to face the third place Cardinals who are 25-23 and whom the Pirates have not played yet this season. The Cards have a decent starting rotation with Jason Simontacchi (2-3 4.10), Jimmy Journell (4-3 3.01) and Tyler Johnson (5-2 5.75). Their lineup though is the driving force of the team with Albert Pujols (0.300 8 27), Jim Edmonds (0.245 7 18), and Scott Rolen (0.307 8 19).

Game 49: Pirates 3 Cardinals 5
Both starters did well, but did not last long, with Williams giving up 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings and Ankiel giving up one run in 4 2/3 innings and neither getting the decision. The game was tied 3-3, but the Cardinals scored two in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead. Both runs were charged to Mark Corey, who was not able to record a single out, and picked up the loss. The win went to Reyes, and Lambert was able to pick up the save in the ninth despite giving up two walks in the inning.

Game 50: Pirates 4 Cardinals 2
Both starters pitched fairly well, with each of them giving up just two runs, with Bullington lasting for six innings and Hawksworth lasting 6 2/3 innings and neither getting the decision. The game wasn't decided until the 12th inning. Lambert started the inning off by walking the first three Pirates batters, putting on Davis, Nady and Wilson to load the bases. Jack Wilson came through with a single that scored Davis and Nady and gave the Pirates a 4-2 lead. The Pirates loaded the bases again when DeCaster was walked and there were still no outs. Finally, Lambert got McDougall to ground into a fielders choice that got Wilson out at home. He then got Henson to line out to first and Vogelsong to strike out to end the inning. Vogelsong then pitched a scoreless bottom half of the inning giving up just a single to hold on to the win. Vogelsong earned the win pitching two scoreless innings, while Lambert got the loss.

Game 51: Pirates 5 Cardinals 0
Burnett pitched a great game, throwing eight scoreless innings while giving up five hits while walking one and striking out seven batters for the win. Journell gave up four runs in the fourth inning, and finished giving up just those four runs in seven innings for the loss.

Series Recap: A nice close series with the Bucs once again coming out on top. Although, the Cubs swept the Reds, meaning the Pirates have fallen to 3.5 back of the Cubs for first.

Around the league, nothing significant happened this week.

11-12-2003, 11:05 AM	#10
Operation Shutdown All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 912	Week 8 The Pirates begin this week finishing off their four game series against the Reds. Game 45: Pirates 8 Reds 9 Bullington struggled in this outing, giving up five runs in 5 1/3. Howington pitched fairly well, giving up four runs in 7 innings. The Pirates were trailing 7-5 heading into the ninth when they managed to score three runs off of closer John Riedling to take the lead 8-7. Then in the bottom of the ninth, LaRue lead off with a double and Villalba followed with an infield single to put runners at the corners with no outs. Mann then seemed to have gotten out of the jam after getting Larson and Dunn to strike out. Hudson tied the game though with a single scoring Smithermon and moving Villalba to third to tie the game. Kielty then got the game winning hit when he singled home Villalba for the winning run. Mann picked up the loss and Wachman got the win. After losing three of four to the Reds, the Pirates challenges mount as they travel to Chicago for a three game series against the Cubs who are 27-17 and whom the Pirates are 2-4 against. The Cubs have one of the best starting rotations in all of the majors with Mark Prior (6-2 1.82), Joe Kennedy (5-4 3.45), Jon Garland (2-4 4.85), and rookie Luke Hagerty (3-0 1.93). Their lineup isn't too bad either, with Dave Kelton (0.298 14 44), Sammy Sosa (0.259 7 22), and Mark Bellhorn (0.296 11 30) leading the way. Game 46: Pirates 3 Cubs 2 Burnett finally picked up his first career ML win after giving up just two unearned runs in six innings. Garland gave up three runs in 8 1/3 innings for the loss. Craig Wilson scored the game winning run, a solo homerun in the seventh inning off of Garland. Mann pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 12th save of the season. Game 47: Pirates 3 Cubs 4 Lopez pitched a really good game, giving up just two runs in seven innings, but the bullpen blew this one so he did not earn the win. Hagerty gave up three runs, two of them earned, in 6 1/3 innings and did not get a decision either. The Cubs were trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth. They led off the inning with a single by Bellhorn who was moved to second on a sacrifice by Dubois. White was then pulled and Mann came in and got Melian to strike out. He then walked Sickels and gave up a double to Davis that scored Bellhorn and Sickels to give the Cubs the lead. Ohman pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the Cubs, getting three straight groundouts to the shortstop for the save. Cruz picked up the win and Mann was charged with the loss. Game 48: Pirates 3 Cubs 2 Fireworks Night at Wrigley Field Both starters did fairly well, each giving up two runs, with VanBenSchoten lasting five innings and Thomson lasting 6 1/3 innings and neither got a decision. The Pirates got the winning run in the ninth inning. After getting two quick outs, Beltran walked Vic Butler. Bobby Hill made him pay with a double to left-center to score Butler, the winning run. Corey then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the save. White picked up the win and Beltran got the loss. Series Recap: Just what the Pirates needed, a series win against the division leading Cubs puts them now 2.5 back. All three of those games could have went either way, each decided by just one run. Next up, the Pirates travel to St. Louis to face the third place Cardinals who are 25-23 and whom the Pirates have not played yet this season. The Cards have a decent starting rotation with Jason Simontacchi (2-3 4.10), Jimmy Journell (4-3 3.01) and Tyler Johnson (5-2 5.75). Their lineup though is the driving force of the team with Albert Pujols (0.300 8 27), Jim Edmonds (0.245 7 18), and Scott Rolen (0.307 8 19). Game 49: Pirates 3 Cardinals 5 Both starters did well, but did not last long, with Williams giving up 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings and Ankiel giving up one run in 4 2/3 innings and neither getting the decision. The game was tied 3-3, but the Cardinals scored two in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead. Both runs were charged to Mark Corey, who was not able to record a single out, and picked up the loss. The win went to Reyes, and Lambert was able to pick up the save in the ninth despite giving up two walks in the inning. Game 50: Pirates 4 Cardinals 2 Both starters pitched fairly well, with each of them giving up just two runs, with Bullington lasting for six innings and Hawksworth lasting 6 2/3 innings and neither getting the decision. The game wasn't decided until the 12th inning. Lambert started the inning off by walking the first three Pirates batters, putting on Davis, Nady and Wilson to load the bases. Jack Wilson came through with a single that scored Davis and Nady and gave the Pirates a 4-2 lead. The Pirates loaded the bases again when DeCaster was walked and there were still no outs. Finally, Lambert got McDougall to ground into a fielders choice that got Wilson out at home. He then got Henson to line out to first and Vogelsong to strike out to end the inning. Vogelsong then pitched a scoreless bottom half of the inning giving up just a single to hold on to the win. Vogelsong earned the win pitching two scoreless innings, while Lambert got the loss. Game 51: Pirates 5 Cardinals 0 Burnett pitched a great game, throwing eight scoreless innings while giving up five hits while walking one and striking out seven batters for the win. Journell gave up four runs in the fourth inning, and finished giving up just those four runs in seven innings for the loss. Series Recap: A nice close series with the Bucs once again coming out on top. Although, the Cubs swept the Reds, meaning the Pirates have fallen to 3.5 back of the Cubs for first. Around the league, nothing significant happened this week. __________________ "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."