I almost thought the Pirates were going to blow it Tuesday night in Toronto, but they held on for a 7-6 victory against the Blue Jays.
Pittsburgh snapped a 13-game road losing streak against AL opponents.
Kevin Correia picked up his 10th win and Joel Hanrahan his 23rd save in as many opportunities.
I believe the Pirates have a real opportunity to gain some ground in the division race before the All-Star break. They are two games above .500 with two left in Toronto, three against Washington, three against Houston and three with the Chicago Cubs.
If they can take 2 of 3 in the 4 remaining series they will be five games above .500 at the break. I really believe that's possible. A sweep in there would hurt, either.
The pitching has been strong, especially from the starters, but they need to get the bats going. They did do against the Jays, but that was in a hitters' ballpark against a sub-pitcher.
The division-race could be decided when the Bucs, Cardinals, Brewers and Reds meet each other. Chicago and Houston aren't in the race, but right now, it's anyone's ballgame, no pun intended.
Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, it can't beat Milwaukee and St. Louis usually finishes strong. I believe Cincinnati had it's run last year and will fizzle out.
That leaves the Bucs in a finish for third place. I say they will win 78 games this year.
That being said, they've proven me wrong alot this year. I said there was no way in hell they'd beat the Phillies, and they took 2 out of 3. The same can be said against the Red Sox. They also have a good record against the division and are playing much better on the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment