CHRISTOPHER PANSINO – OVATHLETICS.COM
The Pirates opened their season at home against the two-time NL west champion Dodgers. But despite the tough opponent, Pirate fans were optimistically buzzing about the upcoming season on a near perfect warm sunny day. And for a team coming off its seventeenth consecutive losing season, the day seemed hopeful of things to come.
Zack Duke got his second consecutive opening day start today. Despite struggling down the stretch last year, Duke impressed the Pirates early in spring training earning him the number one spot on the pitching rotation.
Duke was the starting pitcher in last years opener in which he pitched a four hit shutout.
Duke got off to a shaky start allowing a walk and double that set up for a two run single by center fielder Matt Kemp in the first. Duke settled down in later innings, only allowing two runs though five innings.
Gerrett Jones made up for the early slip up with consecutive home runs in the first and third innings to single handily put the Pirates ahead 3-2. His first homer, a two run blast, left the ballpark and landed in the Allegheny River, the 29th ball to do so in the parks history.
Jones would finish the day 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and a walk.
The Dodgers pitching struggled today as starting pitcher Vicente Padilla gave up 6 hits and 7 run in 4 and 1/3 innings leading to his early exit.
A rally in the fifth inning, which started with Andrew McCutchen being hit by a pitch and lead to an RBI double by Lastings Milledge that drove in a run, was the end of Padilla’s day. Padilla’s replacement, Ramone Ortiz, didn’t fare too well either with the bases loaded in the fifth he gave up a three run double to pinch hitter Ryan Church to put the Pirates up 7-2.
The Pirates would add another run on a pop up to right field before then end of the fifth. The Pirates were not without their own pitching woes as Duke was pulled early for the Church pinch hit, leaving a shaky bullpen to hold on to a six run lead.
In the top of the seventh relief pitcher D.J Carrasco was brought in to manage the lead, but after putting the first two men on base he gave up a two run RBI double to Manny Ramirez. Carrasco was pulled in favor of Evan Meek, but Meek could only contain the Dodgers as Ramirez eventually scored shrinking the Pirate lead to 8-5.
The Pirates bullpen would hold the Dodgers for the rest of the game, but some insurance run in the eighth inning gave the Pirates some breathing room.
McCutchen who was honored in the pregame festivities for being named Rookie of the Year by Baseball America, hit a monstrous shot to straight away center field that hit off the top of the wall for a double in the eighth. He would eventual score on a three run homerun by Ryan Doumit to cap the game at 11-5. McCutchen would finish the day 1-4 with a stolen base, but his clutch hit late in the game was all fans seemed to remember about his day.
With the win today the Pirates have won four consecutive openers, something they haven’t done since before the end of World War II.
The Pirates have Tuesday off before resuming the series with the Dodgers on Wednesday.
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