Good afternoon from PNC Park where the Pirates (43-40) look to build off of last night’s improbable come-from-behind victory against the Mets in the second game of the three-game set. Charlie Morton (4-9, 3.41 ERA) will take on Chase Anderson (5-3, 3.63 ERA).
Francisco Liriano threw a sim game (1 IP behind L-Screen, 3 IP w/o screen) prior to batting practice today.
“I saw three of the innings that he pitched,” said Clint Hurdle. “He’s thrown all of his pitches. Working out of the windup and the stretch, there’s some rust. Seemed to be no complications so far so, it’s going well.”
Pirates Quotes
Neil Walker on if walkoff wins can carry over: “I think so. Yesterday was an interesting game because the pitching was so good from both sides and suddenly you look up and it’s hardly two hours into the game and you’re in the ninth inning and you’re losing then all of a sudden, you get the first couple of guys on base and get a big hit and the game’s tied and then Ike does what he does, but I think it can carry over. I think right now our confidence is pretty high so, we’re pretty confident with what’s going on.”
Hurdle on being outhit the last seven games, yet pulling off a 5-2 record: “We were able to scratch some early runs against Colon, we’ve done it a bunch of different ways. It just comes down to a complete team effort. Doing what you have to do to meet the demands of the game to win ballgames and that’s what we’ve been able to do. The pitching has been good. The length of the starters, the pitch efficiency, the defense we’ve been able to play behind them. More often than not, it all keeps you in a position to win a game if you can do something on offense and we’ve found some ways to capitalize on some opportunities.”
Other Notes
— Andrew McCutchen is just one of five Pirates position players to take home Player-of-the-Month honors at least three times in his career (also June and July of 2012).
— Last night’s 3-2 victory was Pittsburgh’s Major League-leading eighth walkoff win of 2014 and the second of the season (fourth career) for Ike Davis. The Pirates had nine walkoff wins last year and have posted 82 all time at PNC Park.
— West Virginia’s Herold Ramirez enters tonight’s action with a 23-game hitting streak, which is the longest by a player in the South Atlantic League this season and the longest in West Virginia Power history. The previous record was held by Starling Marte, who hit safely in 22 straight games in 2009. During his current streak, Ramirez has gone 35-for-101 (.347) with five doubles, one triple, one homer, 12 RBI and 15 runs scored.
Tonight’s Lineups
First pitch is set for 7:05.
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(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
