Ross Ohlendorf Solid Again as Bucs Beat Brewers 5-2

The Pirates have won four of five against the beer makers. Ross Ohlendorf (11-8) went seven plus innings before turning the game over to Jesse Chavez who threw the final two innings to preserve the victory. Delwyn Young and Lastings Milledge hit homeruns for the Pirates.

In the last ten starts, Ohlendorf has a 1.31 WHIP. 3.09ERA.    Ohlendorf has a 2.72 ERA in his last six starts.

Ross Ohlendorf is making the Nady/Marte trade look like a steal with every start.  We firmly believe the time he spent with Joe Kerrigan before is paying dividends.  It is almost as if Ross has a jump start on the other pitchers in the Kerrigan Way.

Ross said, “since I have started going over my head in the wind up, I am able to throw hard without trying to, it takes away the tension, and helps me to relax…”

Key Play:  On a comebacker to Ross, Young couldn’t turn the double play which allowed Ryan Braun to reach base on the FC.  Ohlendorf promptly picked off Braun with Prince Fielder at the plate. Huge.

Hit it big boy…

*Enter

**Steve Pearce is agressive at first base. Pearce is making a case for the job in the short term. Hit some bombs kid.

**The Pirates have won two games in a row for the first time since taking two from the Giants after the All Star Break.   The Pirates are streaking.

**The Thrilledge homer was his first as a Pirate and staked Ohlendorf to a 4-1 lead through five innings.

**Steve Blass is great at storytelling. Some tidbits from last night included:

Roberto Clemente (he would have been 75 yesterday) had tremendous competiveness. Clemente didn’t chit chat after reaching base.  We can’t do it any justice hear….just listen to Blass.

Tony Perez would always call for pickoffs when Willie Stargell was on first slapping him on the toes. Willie suffered from corns. Ugh.

Also, at Riverfront the Reds and Pirate players had gone out the night before. A Reds middle infielder had ‘lost’ his credit card. The Pirates ‘found it.’  A Pirate player left it on the second base bag between innings so when the player took the throw down from the catcher before the inning started, the player looked down and it was like “seeing a rattlesnake.”

Mental note:  Blass needs to be invited to a party at my house.

**Andy LaRoche is 4-for-6 in the series and had an RBI single in the seventh after a Garrett Jones ground rule double.

**Ryan Doumit is struggling at the plate against the offspeed breaking balls.