Pirates Kevin Correia Stalls Again At PNC
By Tom Smith
Kevin Correia was rolling along,
mowing down Dodger after Dodger then abruptly, the wheels came off. It has happened three times at PNC Park for the Pirates best starter this season. If we could just erase one inning in each of three home starts, Correia would be the talk of baseball.
Remember when he was cruising against the Brewers earlier in the season until that Pirates killer Prince Fielder stepped to the plate? Or when the Nationals cracked it open? The situation was the same last night, so the 0-3 mark at PNC is awful deceiving, but maybe it’s something to be more strategic about moving forward.
The Bucs sent their starter back out for the seventh inning and on a 2-2 count got a groundball for the first out. After a double to the North Side Notch that we thought would certainly chase him from the game with the Pirates trailing 4-2, Correia stayed in and had to act like Ben Roethlisberger as Steve Pearce tried to impersonate Maurkice Pouncey snapping the baseball between his legs and over the head of the intense Pirates pitcher.
It was hideous. And it cost the Bucs another run and sent Correia to the showers.
Daniel Moskos was efficient again coming on in relief to hold the Dodgers lead at 5-2, but the rest of the bullpen did nothing to keep the Pirates in this one. Also, it was very evident last night that Ray Searage gets pissed off when that happens.
Chris Resop came on to relieve Michael Crotta who has pitched his way back to AAA with 6 earned runs while getting just two outs in his last three appearances.
Crotta couldn’t get an out in the eighth inning, thus Resop inherited a bases loaded jam and promptly poured oil all over the fire. He did nothing to improve his strand rate which was 75%–prior to last night, Resop had left nine of the 12 runners he inherited on the basepaths. By the time Ray Searage came out for a visit, it was obvious the game was out of hand.
Watching Searage get within a few inches of going bill-of-Pirates-cap to bill-of-Pirates cap with the right handed reliever was a breath of fresh air. Sometimes watching the pitcher that just made you cuss five times get his ass chewed takes some of the edge off.
Maybe it was walking the Dodgers relief pitcher on four pitches, but Ray Searage was Drill Instructor jacked. He started over again on Resop in the bottom of the eighth as center fielder Andrew McCutchen and his death stare stepped to the plate. Searage was animated as he stood in front of Resop on the bench and he barked as he simulated pitching from the stretch in front of Resop on the bench. Meanwhile McCutchen was pissed too and took out his frustration by murdering a baseball. Cutch launched a bomb into the Dodgers bullpen to make the score 10-3.
But the damage was already done and Ray Searage wasn’t happy about it. Thankfully Searage didn’t have a bat in his hands.
Heh, the Pirates are back at .500.
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Video of the Andrew McCutchen solo bombs. Bomb one …. And number two.
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The Bobcats are rolling.