Give Me That Filet-o-Fish

In the afternoon series closer, the Pirates capped off a three game sweep of the Marlins at PNC Park. The Marlins came to Pittsburgh on a 7 game win streak, and are leaving Pittsburgh with their first 3 losses on the road this season.

Paul Maholm got the start today looking to stay unbeaten and bring his record to 3-0. Maholm got off to a good start, shutting the Marlins out through the first 3 innings. Maholm gave up 1 run in the top of the 4th and 5th innings, then 2 in the top of the 6th. The bullpen came in and pitched 3 shutout innings. Jesse Chavez and Sean Burnett combined to retire the Marlins in the 7th, John Grabow struck out 3 in the 8th, and Matt Capps closed out the 9th for his 5th save of the season.

Offensively the Pirates got hot right off the bat, no pun intended. In the bottom of the 1st, Adam LaRoche hit his first of three doubles, scoring Freddy Sanchez. Then in the bottom of the 3rd, Sanchez scored again on a Nate McLouth single. McLouth then scored on a sacrifice fly by Andy LaRoche. Andy got his 2nd RBI of the day in the bottom of the 5th when his double brought in his older brother. After the Marlins tied the game at 4 in the top of the 6th, the Buccos responded immediately. Delwyn Young led off the inning with a pinch hit double then scored on a single by Nyjer Morgan, who advanced to second on the throw home. Being the crafty speedster that he is, Nyjer stole third and scored on the errant throw by ex-Pirate Ronny Paulino. The Pirates scored in the bottom of the 7th when Jack Wilson brought in Adam LaRoche with a single.
For the second time this series, the Buccos swiped three bases off the Marlins battery. Freddy got his first steal of the season, and Nyjer compiled his fifth and sixth.

Game Stats

• Adam LaRoche: 4-5, 3 doubles, 1 RBI, 2 runs scored.
• Andy LaRoche: 1-3, 2 RBIs. Hit his fourth double this season and extended his hit streak to 7 games.....Batting Title?
• Paul Maholm (W): 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 4 Ks.

The Pirates have the day off tomorrow as they head to San Diego to take on the Padres for a 3 game series beginning Friday night at 10:05 (ET). Ian Snell will be looking for his 2nd consecutive win when he takes on Kevin Correia.