Cardinals 2, Pirates 1, 11 innings

Pirates Lineup:
1. Gregory Polanco (L) RF
2. Josh Harrison (R) 3B
3. Andrew McCutchen (R) CF
4. Neil Walker (S) 2B
5. Starling Marte (R) LF
6. Pedro Alvarez (L) 1B
7. Francisco Cervelli (R) C
8. Jordy Mercer (R) SS
9. Francisco Liriano (L) P

ONE of these days this lineup HAS TO produce!

JAL, thanks! You're on it, as usual.
In 10 of their 23 games, the club has score 2 or fewer runs. In 9 games, they've scored 4-6 runs. In only 4 games have they scored more than 6 runs. If folks wonder why Burnett & Liriano have a combined 1-2 record, their offensive support falls on the low end of the spectrum.

Feels like a must win weekend.

Early season must win in my humble opinion. Busch has become the new House of Horrors. Bucs 3-14 in last 17 there.

Been mentioned before but Polanco in the leadoff slot looks like a better fit than Harrison.

So frustrating-- throw the ball on outside corner to Marte and he swings every time.

Wasted opportunity again...

Looks like our pitchers have decided they better start hitting the ball, if they expect to win!

I think I just saw a successful sacrifice bunt!

Still, rather take three shots at driving in the guy from second,

Walker popped up a very hittable pitch, after fouling off some good ones

The cards offer us a run and Clint says no thanks.

Again, this team cannot drive a damn run in to save themselves.

This Buccos offense is quite O-FFENSIVE....

Alvarez has NO CLUE of his stupidity there.

Maybe the Boras academy can teach Pedro how to run bases.

Wow. JHay just a mess right now. I'd give him a week off at this point. Just a mess.

Six innings, 10 left on base

Harrison has to be benched for Sean Rod!!! Cmon Hurdle-- wake the hell up instead of chewing Dubble Bubble

The regression continues.

OMG...

Pedro made a good play. Probably wouldn't have gotten bourjos anyway but that throw was classic

oh my Pedro is. just a train wreck in the field

Is there anywhere on the field Alvarez can play??

This team is just not very good.

This team continues to just be unable to do the little things to win

Pedro has to go to the American League. He can't throw and that kills you no matter where you play him. I know that air mail didn't hurt them ultimately but he's a train wreck. He makes Steve Sax look like Brooks Robinson.

Is this a new game or are they just running a replay of last nights game? Eerily similar. #bucsmissedchances

With the lack of hitting, the margin of error is so slim, and the wasted chances are wins they wish they would have had in September

I wouldn't be surprised to see at some point this season someone try to score from second base on a grounder to the right side with Alvarez at 1st.

Can't get any bounces either against these guys. Some dumb luck would be nice.

Almost have to laugh at this ineptitude.

Time for a hit off this ancient lefty.

Backwards K against Choate there is inexcusable

That pitch Hart took was in the other batters box. The umpiring in the majors is still terrible.

Looks like Liriano has to hit a homer.

Easy to point to the negatives and he terrible offense. But the starting pitching has been outstanding especially the top 3. Awesome game from Liriano

He's not wild, he just saw the umps strike zone!

Molina doesn't look like a gold glover today. Not at all.

Like this. Walking Pedro. I call a single to right field by cervelli

I sort of like Cervelli in this spot?

15 men LOB. I don't even want to watch the bottom of the ninth

As an aside don't know the stats but seems to me JHay swings at 90% of all pitches no matter where or what this season. He's always been aggressive but that is ridiculous

Like the Chickillo pick. Bloodlines, lot of starts in college.

Calling it now. Kang gonna score or drive in the winning run.

Matheny didn't get the memo of Jordys splits.

1 run on 11 hits. This team needs to wake up and put some consistent at bats together. Putrid.

Yadi to Siegrist: throw it a foot outside and this guy will swing

Hit was wonders, and essentially no bench.

Guarantee if the Cardinals get a lead off double they bunt the man over to 3rd and give themselves a chance to score with a sac fly. But not our Bucco's!!

Some great pitching being wasted again

Beautiful job there by Marte

Need a bloop here

18 LOB

Neil really playing himself into a huge pay day this off season.... what a cleanup hitter

Ballgame over. That bouncy double is gonna lead to a run. Time for Sunday lineup tomorrow Id let all the bench guys play.

You just know that someone somewhere will blame the pitching.

Wow. Bourjos a big mistake there. If he's so fast he has no reason to cheat on the jump.

Can't argue with results: Hurdle has somehow gotten this team in the post-season two consecutive years. But something's amiss in Bucs' approach to offense. I have never seen a team this inept at getting runs home, and it's been this way the past two seasons.

Wow. Note to pirates hitters. Bang it off the plate area.

How do you sweep the series on the road and then we lose four out of five in your own division question

We should've started Lambo to give this offense a spark

just one game in may...just 5.5 games out. This is becoming a huge disaster of a baseball team. better turn it around soon

Two games in a row losing like this. Unreal. And that's why the Cardinals are perennial contenders and the Pirates just hope to get to the playoffs. One team simply knows how to win. The other only hopes to win.

Not the pitching though dk! imagine how furious the pitchers must be to put up these kind of consecutive putting with absolutely no help. cutch's bad knee or not, these guys are embarrassing

outtings

Pitching to Carpenter there? There? Wow.

Here Cards, we'll just hand you Game 2 after 11 innings.

Victory to the least undeserving team. Now, just try to score runs off Wacha. Smell a sweep? Probably get 6-8 runs off him.

I refuse to watch this team right now.

The only way this team ever wins there division is if they move the Cardinals to the A L like they did Houston and thats not going to happen. I am so sick of watching that pathetic looking Alvarez. You cannot hide him. He will screw up wherever he plays. A little leaguer can make a throw better than him.

Another wasted pitching performance...right now their lineup not scaring anybody..next series with Cincy might be tough also..Reds pitching even without Homer Bailey looks good enough to hold Bucs offense to one run

This team of underachievers is setting new highs and inventing new ways to waste excellent starting pitching.

Next road trip to St. Louis, stay home, take the automatic losses, and save the plane and hotel money.

It is nearly impossible to strand 18 runners on base at any level of baseball in any age group in any league. Congrats on being famous for that.

Pirates haven't had a better record than the Cards this century. Pirates aren't going to come of age until that streak ends.

Not clutch, 18 LOB I rest my case. Just can't deliver.

18 runners left on base in 11 innings. A little research found the Pirates record to be 18 in 9 innings against the Reds in 1905. That's 110 years ago folks! What an embarrassment.

Kudos to Matheny in twice walking Pedro intentionally in order to have righties pitch to Cervelli with 2 out and 2 on. Can't fault their strategy in helping strand those runners by pitching to the guy less likely to be the game-changer.

I get it now. This isnt an offense. Its a performance art traveling comedy show. Very avant garde fellas. Now pull your heads out because youre disgracing the uniform. Guess the Penguins disease is contagious.

5 walk off losses (40%) including 3 in 11 innings and 3-6 in one run games. By my account they have only won one game late (Arizona 2-1 win). 8 of 12 wins have been by 3 runs or more while 8 of 12 losses have been in games decided late. Simply put, they are not winning the competitive games.

There's an adage that a team will win 1/3 of their games (54), lose a 1/3 (54) and the remaining competitive third will determine how a team fares.

Well 24 games in, the Pirates have had 8 easy wins (1/3) and only 4 blowout losses (1/6). The problem is the 4-8 record in the half of their games that have been contested.

Is it still early?

Great pitching+non scoring batting= .500

Good to see Bucco fans hanging on every single game. A big change from several years ago!

Top of 10, lead off double and YOU DONT BUNT?! I guess it's somewhere in Kangs contract that he has to swing away every at bat

I fear with Wacha going today, this could be bad.