The Pittsburgh Pirates Let The Cat Outta The Bag

Aug 1, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jeanmar Gomez (30) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the seventh inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The “feel-good” series against the St. Louis Cardinals came to a crashing halt as the Pittsburgh Pirates got taken to the woodshed, 13-0.  Fortunately for the Pirates, the singles machine commonly referred to as the Redbirds saved it all for one game in a five-game series.

The five game series formerly known as The Series of the Season, The Most Important Series in PNC Park History or The Rumble on the Allegheny provided great moments, captured in the GIFs below.  But in the end, it simply vaulted the Pirates into first place in a season of intoxicating moments.

Mark Melancon did work.

The Left Field Loonies bro-tected the house,

letting Matt Holliday know this wasn’t the same old Buccos fans.

But did the Pittsburgh Pirates flash a little too much swag while piling up four straight wins over the St. Louis Cardinals? Thomas Demerath at my fav Cards blog, RedBird Rants thinks so.

"After losing some close games at PNC Park, the Birdinals beat the Pirates like they stole something, because they did. Pittsburgh took the superlatives that St. Louis possessed for most of the season, but they did it in a cocky way. Not to say that the Bucs don’t deserve to be in first place, however they looked too similar to the Brewers in 2010. Hot Dogs are to be enjoyed off the field, not to be on display as if anything has been decided in late July. Especially when the Pirates have such a stout recent history of losing and collapsing."

Yeah, winning four straight against the St. Louis Cardinals felt good.  We got caught up in it with some Photoshop chicanery.

But Joe Kelly came out last night pretty fired up.  Kelly glared at Andrew McCutchen through his glasses as he fielded his dribbler and tossed it to first base.  Kelly fired no-hit ball… for a few innings anyway.

About the only thing Kelly struggled with was himself.  Kelly’s slider sucked in the second when he walked the bases loaded.  Unfortunately, the Bucs left them drunk when Charlie Morton was punched out by the bespectacled right-hander.

Kelly also looked like the fastest player in the Cardinals lineup while beating out a base hit.  All in all, Kelly looked like the not-so-Deadbirds stopper as the Cards saw red and blasted 17 hits at PNC Park.

Yeah, Kelly had a good night.

So what’s it all mean?  Not a whole lot if the first-place Pirates don’t take care of business.  Pittsburgh faces the Rockies starting tonight and the Marlins come to town on Tuesday.  Meanwhile, the #SecondPlaceCards travel to Ohio to battle with the #ThirdPlaceReds.

For now it means we’re just gonna sit back and savor taking four of five against the hallowed Cards.

Too much swag?  Yeah, maybe.  It happens when a team is on a roll.  And there is no doubt that, until last night, the Pittsburgh Pirates were rolling.  When the team did lose, it was typically a tight battle.

But a punch in the teeth is just that, one punch.  The Pirates have proven this years club is far from being a Glass Jaw Joe.

After a game like that, there isn’t anything to say.  Just like skipper Clint Hurdle mentioned after the game, the Pirates kept the cat in the bag for four days…

Let’s trust the Bucs can get the cat back in the bag when they face them the rest of the season.