Don’t look now, but the pitcher who was sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen at the trade deadline, demanded to be traded, and was placed back in the rotation only because of injury is pitching better than most of the 18 pitchers on the roster.  Pittsburgh Pirates starter Kevin Correia has a lot of motivation to pitch well down the stretch for the Bucs.

Correia is as competitive as anyone I’ve met. The Bucs right hander has a baby on the way, and his Pittsburgh Pirates are somehow in the middle of a race for a wild card spot.

One would think the wild card spot would motivate most anyone on the team, but if you heard James McDonald talk the other night, maybe that’s not the case.

The California kid will become a free-agent at the end of the season and last night he pitched like a man on a mission. He struck out the side in the first inning and never looked back.   The Pirates raised the jolly roger with a 3-0 shutout over the Chicago Cubs.  Correia, Jason Grilli, and Joel Hanrahan combined to put the Cubs in the rear view mirror and set up a showdown at PNC Park tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers.

In Correia’s last 31.2 innings pitched he has allowed 30 hits and just seven earned runs.  He has won nine of his past twelve decisions.    In his past sixteen starts, Correia has pitched 93.2 innings and gave up 42 earned runs in his past 17 starts.

Correia lost five straight starts from the end of April until May 20.  In his past 17 starts he has been charged with three or fewer runs 14 times.  The Bucs are 12-5 in those games.

Woooooooooooooooooooo!

The Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff has done some kick ass things in 2012.

The Fan has done excellent work this year getting Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage to open up in his interviews.  We even thought we heard the morning show team call him ‘Uncle Ray.’  Pretty solid stuff.

Searage commended starter Kevin Correia after not pitching for nine days.

“As to his future as a starter, we are going to take it one game at a time.” Ray Searage

Jason Grilli was discussed.  Searage said it’s not so much physical, but more times it is mental when asked if Chad Qualls would be used as the setup man rather than Grilli.  A direct answer wasn’t given to the question, which leads one to believe that Grilli might indeed see some time off.

But then Searage said if Grilli was needed in this afternoon’s game, he wouldn’t hesitate to use him.

It took the setup man just 12 pitches to give up four runs against the Diamondbacks two days ago.  It was the first meltdown in a remarkable season for the 6’5″, 225-pounder.  The thought that he needs a mental rest seems like much ado about nothing.  It happens. It’s over. We were able to see Grilli pull his hands through his hair fifty times as he hung his head in the dugout Tuesday night thanks to some Root Sports camera work.

‘Get him back on the bump’ is our take on it.

Here is the link to the interview on 93.7 The Fan.

June 17, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage (54) runs to the dugout after a trip to the pitchers mound in the fourth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE

Searage said that James McDonald is experiencing things he has never experienced before.  The Bucs pitching coach also said he feels comfortable with him, and said he is back to his competitive self.

We won’t even ruin it for you with the comments Searage made about A.J. Burnett.  Go listen.

The Pirates right hander hasn’t faced Arizona this season.

Also, Correia hasn’t pitched since July 29 when he went two innings against the Houston Astros. Prior to the one relief appearance, Correia pitched 23 innings allowing ten earned runs in four starts. Each of the starts was a Bucco victory, two of them by a run and the other two by two runs.

June 19, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Kevin Correia (29) throws a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE