Sunday's loss to the Cubs was a tough one for the Pirates to swallow. First, Ian Snell continued to struggle, giving up 7 hits and 4 runs in 4 innings, more on this later. Then, the Pirates came back to tie the game in the top of the eighth on a Andy LaRoche homerun, his first as a Pirate and third of the year (Brandon Moss also got his first HR as a Pirate and third of the year). After newly acquired Craig Hansen got the first two outs of the bottom of the 8th, he walked a man and was replaced by Sean Burnett. Burnett gave up back-to-back homeruns for a total of three runs. The score would remain 8-5 for the rest of the game. Since Hansen was responsible for the man that he walked scoring, he received the loss in his first appearance as a Pirate.
Back to Snell and the Pirates pitching situation...
Snell and Gorzelanny may be reunited soon. Do not be surprised if Snell is sent down to Triple-A if newly acquired Ross Ohlendorf or Daniel McCutchen perform well in their appearances in Triple-A. I find it surprising that the Pirates are not giving Ty Taubenheim a chance. He pitched in one game for the Pirates this season, and while he struggled at first, he finished strong. He pitched six innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. He struck out four and walked three. He has not been that great in Indianapolis, but he as you can see, he performed well in his only game with the Pirates. In Indianapolis, he is 4-9 with a 5.60 ERA in 19 starts.
It is getting hard to recall who is in the Pirates rotation these days, so here it is:
Paul Maholm
Jeff Karstens
Zach Duke
Yoslan Herrera
Ian Snell
Maholm is the only one in the group who has consistently produced. Snell has been terrible in comparison to last year. Duke has played well in a few games, but he is not consistent. Herrara had one solid start, but the rest have been very poor (obviously coming straight up from Double-A is difficult). Karstens performed well in his first game with the Pirates, but we have yet to see if that will continue.
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