Make or Break Weekend??

This weekend could end up being extremely important for the buccos. They come into this weekend series with the marlins losing 4 of their last 5 games, 6 out of 1st in the division and 3 games out of 5th behind the astros. If the pirate dont come out winning this series and get swept they will have dug themselves a hole they will never get out of. There is no way the pirates will be able to leap frog 5 division team being 8-9 games back. The only good thing is tho the NL Central is full of ups and downs i would not be surpised if all 6 teams got swept 3 games in a row if they werent playing eachother. It is amazing that to this point in the season the Buccs are only 6 games out of 1st. This team has been held together by team defense and timely pitching but who knows how long those will continue.

The Pirate pitchers for this weekend will be Morton(tonight), Duke(saturday), and Ohlendorf(sunday) baring unforseen circumstances. Volstad(tonight), Miller(saturday), Nolasco(sunday). These all should turn out to be great matchups to watch.

Tonight
Charlie Morton-(0-1) last outting ended kind of shaky altho he started well. He gave up 7 hits 3 er 1hr 0BB and had 3 k's. His control went from inning to innging. Some pitches hit their spots and some completely missed. The movement we are used to seeing on his pitches was also more flat than usual. This kid does have some talent he just needs to learn how to harness is better. In his 2 first starts he made it to the 5th inning both times and kept the pirates close enough to win. What more could u ask of him.

Chris Volstad-(5-7) differes from game to game as what what you're going to see from him. Hes only 22 and has great stuff but sometimes. In 15 starts he has 95 innings pitches, 93 hits, 49ERs, 15HR's, 70k:28BB. He has only gotten out of the 6th inning 4x in those 15 starts and 3 were in his first 5 starts. Hes averaging close to 100 pitches thru innings of work. That can be good or it can be really bad for us. We tend to not work counts as high as other teams and chase balls way out of the strike zone. If we can get him out in the 5th or 6th inning it will be an immense bonus to us because the marlins bullpen isnt the greatest in the world.

Saturday
Zach Duke(8-6)- has become the work horse of this pirates pitching staff. Out of his 16 starts he has gotten into atleast the 7th inning, 5x he has reached the 8th and he has 1 complete game. So far this yearhis stats are: 112 innings pitched, 107 hits, 39 ER, 11HR's(givin up), 54k:26BB. ERA is 3.13 with a whip of 1.19. He is averaging 100 pitches per 7 innings. If Duke has any chance of making the All-Star team i believe he is going to have to become Sandy Kofax and just completely Dominate.

Andrew Miller(2-4)- Has also been up and down this year with his starts.He is a HUGE kid, at 6 foot 7 inches 207 lbs. In 11 starts hes made it to the 7th only twice, 3x he never made it to the 5th and he usually is finished the the end of the 5th/early 6th. hes averaging over 100 pitches per 6 innings. So far thsi season he has, 64 innings, 62 hits, 32 ER, 3 hr's, 51k:30BB which gives him a 4.45 ERA and a whip of 1.42. Some of his games this season he has gotten wild and walked a bunch of batters. Hopefully this happens for us


Sunday

Ross Ohlendorf(7-6)-The Boss has been a much needed pleasent surprise for this pirates pitching staff. He has been tremendous in his last 2 starts. Hes not a flamthrower but he does has that 2-seam and sinker that have been his main out pitches. His numbers arent overwhelming but they have been good enough to keep the team in games. ROss is also a product of the run for/against ratio. In his 6 losses the pirates have only scored 8 runs(while giving up 24). In his 7 wins they have scored 48 runs(while giving up 13 runs). Season Stats:
4.41 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 96 innings, 94 hits, 47 ER's, 14 HR's, 52K:25BB. Averages just around 92 pitches ber 6 innings.

Rickey Nolasco(5-6)-Nolascos numbers are majorly scewed at this point. In the Beginning of the year he couldnt buy an out if it wanted. So the Marlins sent him down to AAA to fix up w/e problems he had and it sure as hell has worked. Since Returning 5 games ago he has a ERA of 1.91 and a whip under 1. 33 innings, 27 hits, 7 ER, 33k:5BB, 2 HR. Since his return he is averaging 100+pitches for 7 innings. The way Nolasco has been since his return i would not be a gambling man in this game.

Like i Stated above this series could break the pirates season of a lot of hope, if any hope they had last. They can not afford to fall behin any futher than they are now. I like how out pitching matchups are set against the Marlins. I believe Morton and Duke should be able to win their games while we might lose the Nolasco/ohlendorf start.

Whos Hot for both clubs
Adam Laroche-The month of June. .344 BA, .423 OBP, .559 SLG, 982 OPS. 8 Dbls, 4hrs, 15rbis

Hanley Ramirez-Month of June. .370BA, .413 OBP, .593 SLG, 1.006OPS, 9DBl, 5hrs, 33rbis