Pirates Clinch First Overall Pick With 7-2 Win

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Garrett Jones came through again for the Pirates last night.  Jones hit a two-run homer, an RBI single, and a double in the eighth that sparked the Bucs,  Brian Burres pitched well again and the Pirates were victorious over the Cardinals  7-2.

Burres limited the Cards to just four hits and one earned run.  An error by Ronny Cedeno, again, led to another unearned run.  To see Burres bounce back after the Cards had beat him up pretty good last week was impressive.

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It makes me curious to see what the Pirates will do with Burres and Zach Duke.   They look the same, with Burres having pitched well and being affordable is it tempting to the Pirates to let Duke and his salary go this offseason?  Despite his struggles, Duke has chewed up some innings.  A big question will be do the Bucs think Burres could provide the same thing in 2011 and will they roll the dice?  God, I hope not.

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The victory was significant because the Seattle Mariners also won last night which means the Pittsburgh Pirates will select first in the June Amateur draft.

Fire up O.A.R., grab some Irons, hell, let’s have a parade.   The Pirates haven’t selected the first player since Bryan Bullington in 2002.  Sigh.

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Baseball America puts two of the Bucs prospects in the Top 10 of the New York Penn League, and one other in the Top 20.  If you missed it, here is the link