Pittsburgh Pirates Morning Roundup: Going Back To The Playoffs
By Larry Snyder
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Neil Walker led the team with a career-high six RBI’s Wednesday in Colorado as the Bucs downed the Rockies 13-7 at Coors Field. This victory secured a third consecutive playoff spot for the crew of the Jolly Roger.
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The fun fact is that the last three times the Pirates have assured themselves a postseason berth, they did it on Sept. 23rd. The last time Pittsburgh made the playoffs three consecutive seasons was 1990-1992. Here is a look at the accomplishment of Clint Hurdle’s squad from around the internet…
Mark Sandritter on SB Nation applauded the Rockies for sending over some champagne to the Pirates locker room so they could celebrate in style.
Ron Cook of the Post-Gazette reminds Pirate fans everywhere not to take this team for granted. It is an arduous task to make Major League Baseball’s postseason.
David Schoenfield, the SweetSpot blogger on ESPN, sees this team as wanting more than just making it to the postseason. They have expressed their desire to go further this season.
Steve Kubitz of Rumbunter takes a look at the third installment of “Buctober.”
Karl Buscheck of Bleacher Report reviews the MLB playoff odds at this point in the season. He likes that the Pirates have a 50-25 record at PNC Park, which just happens to be the second-best mark at home.
Up Next: The Pirates conclude their four-game set this afternoon Colorado at Coors Field. Rockies manager Walt Weiss will give the ball to 26-year-old Chad Bettis (8-5, 4.46 ERA/1.40 WHIP). The 6-foot-1, 200-pound right-hander has 86 strikeouts over 103.0 innings pitched.
Clint Hurdle will send 27-year-old Jeff Locke (8-11, 4.48 ERA/1.41 WHIP) to the mound. The left-hander has put up 124 strikeouts over 162.2 innings pitched. The first pitch is 3:10 p.m. ET, and you can check out all the action on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh.
From The Clipboard: The contest lasted 3:38, and there were 23,256 in the seats at Coors Field…The Bucs were 82-70 after 152 games last season… With 92 wins, Pittsburgh is one victory short of its 10,000th franchise victory. The crew of the Jolly Roger sailed into the National League back in 1887…The Pirates are 32 games over the .500 mark for the first time since the 1992 campaign…Since saves became an official stat in 1969, Mark Melancon’s 49 saves are the eighth-highest single season total among National League pitchers.
Next: Pitt: Searching For Respect In ACC Power Rankings