Bucco Fever

Posts Tagged Jeff Karstens

Game Notes – June 10th – Pirates @ Braves

Jun 10

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

In my game notes from Monday, I wrote that with Jeff Karstens pitching an inning of relief, I thought there was a possibility, however small, that Chaz Morton would be called up to start tonight.  Well it turns out he was called up start, but it didn’t last long.  Morton apparently experienced some hamstring tightness during warm ups, was allowed to give it a go, but after one scoreless inning decided he couldn’t pitch through it and was pulled.  Karstens came in, and the bullpen combined for 8 innings, allowing only 2 earned runs and 5 hits.  While the effort from Karstens and the rest of the ‘pen was nice, I don’t understand this at all.  Morton is young kid who could potentially be a starter here for a long time.  Why even send him out there if the injury occurred during warm ups?

There wasn’t much in the way of offense in this one. Adam LaRoche went 1-3 with 2 RBI and 2 BB, Freddy Sanchez was 2-4 with a 2B.  Despite that, the bullpen was able to hold on for a 3-2 win, improving the team to 27-32 on the season.

Tags: , ,

Game Notes – June 8th – Pirates @ Braves

Jun 9

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

I’m adding a new type of post beyond the links and long form stuff, as the title would indicate, game notes.  My schedule isn’t going to allow me to post these for every game, and don’t expect a game story ever, for that go to the Pirates website, or your favorite local paper, my intention is for this to be short, with a brief overview pointing out players and events that are notable and weaving in my thought sand opinions.

Last night the Pirates lost to former teammate Nate McLouth and the Atlanta braves in 15 Innings, 7-6.  McLouth was 3-7 with a HR, his tenth, while his Pirates CF counterpart, Andrew McCutchen went 4-7 with 2 triples and a double.  Through 5 games he is now hitting .400 with an OPS over 1.000.  While it is a small sample size, count me as a believer, his speed is ridiculous, and he doesn’t seem nervous out there at all, so look for him to only get better.

Zach Duke had a poor outing, giving up 6 runs in 6 innings.  Over the course of the 15 inning affair, the Pirates used their entire bullpen except for closer Matt Capps.  Jeff Karstens, who is scheduled to start Wednesday, took the loss in the 15th, but only threw 18 pitches, so it likely won’t affect the order of the rotation.  I know its probably too early for it, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Chaz Morton called up to make a spot start on Wednesday.  Morton last pitched on Friday, and is scheduled to pitch again on Thurday for Indy, which means he could make the start.  It seems unlikely that he would be called up so quickly after a trade though, only to be sent back down after one start.

Tags: , , ,