Six in a row

The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped their sixth game in a row as the Buccos wasted a strong performance from Paul Maholm in a 4-2 loss to Washington.

Maholm picked up the loss (1-6) thanks to Jose Ascanio allowing a homer to Danny Espinoza on his first pitch to break a 2-2 tie in the seventh.
The mini-series concludes today with Charlie Morton against Jordan Zimmerman...

Pirate Hooks

1) Paul Maholm has pitched well this season and deserves a better fate than a 1-6 record.

I thought that Clint Hurdle's decision to pull Maholm was premature and it made the difference in the game.
I realize managers will always be second guessed in that situation,but Hurdle's move with one man on and one out already recorded was second guessed by me before the homer....

2) Brandon Wood's blunder on the bases in the fourth cost the Bucs a run with Wood attempting to move from first to third,which was a high gamble for a small reward.
Combine that with a later miscue of a squeeze bunt in the inning and you can see Clint Hurdle didn't have a good night.

3) The key mistake I thought on the squeeze was this-not that the runner was the cement-legged Chris Snyder or even that it was Maholm dropping the bunt,my issue is using a lefty batter to drop the bunt.
If the pitch is outside the strike zone,the runner is dead and their speed is rendered meaningless.

I am running short on time today,so I'll leave it here.
Back later with the next game and some words on the Cavaliers in tonight's NBA lottery....