9/7/11 Game Analysis: Cutch puts da team on his back!

     Tonight really defined to me what it means to be a Pirates fan.  It is September, the Pirates are having another poor season (although respectable by recent standards), they are playing the worst team in baseball, and not to mention I have school tomorrow.  None of that matters to this Pirates fan because no matter what day of the year it is and how bad a day it may have been up until this point, the Pirates found a way to make my day.  It just does not matter to me how insignificant the game may seem, a Pirates win will always be a thing to be  cherished in my heart. 
     This game started out like a lot of other Pirates games.  A soft-tossing lefty was on the mound for the Pirates and pretty much right away began to get shelled, allowing three home runs in 3.2 innings.  The Astros sent out J.A. Happ to pitch and him and his 5.77 ERA mostly shut down the Pirates.  This would have been the case if not for Team MVP Andrew McCutchen.  Andrew hit two home runs off of Happ tonight to bring his season total to 22 on the year, and this makes it quite clear that his shake-weight is the reason for his mysterious power.
     After McCutchen's second home run that tied the game at 4-4, the Pirates offense was stymied until the 8th inning with one out, when in a bizzare series of events, the Pirates managed to score the go ahead run off of Jason Jaramillo's bat  and also run themselves out of the inning all in one play.  It did not matter because Joel Hanrahan came on in the 9th to pitch a perfect inning to record his 36th save of the year.  The win takes the Pirates to 66-77 on the year.

Game Notes:

• Jared Hughes made his Major League debut and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings while just allowing a hit.
• Chris Leroux continued his dominace with 1.2 innings of scoreless ball with two strikeouts
• Alex Presley and Derrek Lee each had two hits apeice tonight

Hero: Andrew McCutchen
Goat: Brian Burres