Maholm Confident As Pirates Take On Brewers on Italian Sausage Smashing Anniversary

The Pittsburgh Pirates Paul Maholm will head to the mound tonight in Milwaukee to face the Brewers Doug Davis.   The LHP for the Breweres is back after a heart condition put him on the DL.  Please win tonight Bucs, the jokes are just waiting to happen if you don’t.

Maholm has allowed four runs in seven innings in each of his two starts against the Brew Crew this year.   The first start was in April and the second was about three weeks later.  In April he allowed seven hits including two homers, five walks and six strikeouts.  The Bucs came back to win the game 6-5.  In May, he went seven innings again allowing four hits, three walks, and struckout a season high seven Brewers.  The Bucs lost 4-3 in that game.

Paul is simply oozing confidence for tonight as this was his tweet earlier today.   Ugh.

HOT:  

Ryan Church is 5-for-his last 14.  A .357 clip.  Surely that will end soon.

Ryan Doumit is 6-for-his last 18.  A .333 clip.

Pedro Alvarez is 6-for-his last 22.  A .273 clip.

DJ Carrasco has four strikeouts in his last three innings pitched.  Wait, nevermind.  That was the Astros.

Andy LaRoche has three hits in five at bats against Davis.

Davis was 2-0 with a 1.38ERA against the Bucs last season.

NOT:

The Pirates offense.

Andrew McCutchen is 4-for-his last 20.

Prince Fielder is 3-for-40 awful in his career against Paul Maholm with twelve strikeouts.

It’s the seventh anniversary of the infamous Randall Simon clubbing of the braut Rob Biertempfel tweeted a little bit ago.  A video reminder of the Italian Sausage Smashing in Milwaukee. As one commenter put it, could this be the most ”important” swing taken by a Pirate since Barry Bonds?