Jeff Karstens, Pedro Alvarez Power Pittsburgh Pirates to Sweep of Marlins
By Matt Shetler
Get the brooms out.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have made winning at PNC Park a habit and Sunday afternoon in front of a packed house, the Bucs did what they’ve been doing all year long, defeating the Miami Marlins 3-0, moving 14 games over the .500 mark after the three-game sweep of the Marlins.
The Pirates are a major league best 32-14 at home and the only way you have success like that is with good pitching and Sunday it was Jeff Karstens turn to deliver, and deliver he did.
After a shaky first inning in which he got out of a bases loaded jam, Karstens (3-2) finished the day throwing seven innings of shutout baseball, scattering only five hits along the way.
The Bucs got him a run in the first inning after Andrew McCutchen singled in Alex Presley, who singled and stole second.
As it turned out, it would be all Karstens needed on the afternoon, but Pedro Alvarez gave him some insurance, launching his 21st homer of the season in the seventh inning, a two-run blast to make it 3-0.
Jared Hughes pitched a perfect eighth and Joel Hanrahan closed it out in the ninth, recording his 28th save of the season.
The win marked a season-high five game win streak for Clint Hurdle’s team, with the opportunity to build on that as the Chicago Cubs come to town Monday to begin a three-game set.
Winning Pitcher: Jeff Karstens (3-2)
Losing Pitcher: Anibal Sanchez (5-7)
Save: Joel Hanrahan (28)
MVP: Karstens, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 K, 2 BB
LVP: Neil Walker, 0-for-4, 3 K
Play of the Game: With runners on first and second in the seventh and Karstens in his first jam since the first inning, Karstens got Omar Infante to bounce into an inning ending double play.
Home Runs: Alvarez (21)
Up Next: Monday, July 23 vs. Chicago Cubs at 7:05 p.m. EDT
Probable Starters: Jeff Samardzija (6-8, 4.57 ERA) vs. Erik Bedard (5-10, 4.55)