Doumit dynamite strikes again

Ryan Doumit's ninth inning homer (5) broke a 1-1 tie to lift the Pirates to a 2-1 win in Cincinnati over the Reds.
Joel Hanrahan was the winner (1-0) and Octavio Dotel had the save,his tenth.
The game was scoreless through seven before a misplayed fly by Drew Stubbs led to a triple for Akinori Iwamura,who then scored on a Neil Walker double.
Hanrahan allowed a homer to Brandon Phillips in the bottom of the eighth,tying the game and setting the stage for Doumit.
The series continues tonight with Ross Ohlendorf (0-2) against Bronson Arroyo (4-2).

Pirate Hooks

1) As bad as I felt for Paul Maholm to get a no decision after Phillips took Joel Hanrahan over the wall,I was happy for Reds rookie Mike Leake,who would have gotten the loss because of Drew Stubbs losing a routine fly in the lights.
Both pitchers pitched well and didn't deserve a loss.

2) The flyball to Stubbs was forced to be scored a triple by the letter of the law,but anyone watching knows it was an error.
Perhaps not one of Stubbs fault,but an error nonetheless.

3) Paul Maholm was as sharp as he has been in quite a while with a six hit effort over seven innings.
Maholm never allowed more than a hit an inning and was effective in keeping the ball on the ground with a low pitch count of 89.

4) The Doumit homer was a rocket shot off heard throwing Nick Masset and showed once again the vulnerability of the hard thrower to home runs.
The old adage that your dad told you was true-the harder it comes in,the harder it can go out.

5) Neil Walker was recalled from Indianapolis and started at third base.
Walker's RBI in the eighth was his first in the big leagues,but then was picked off second as he fell asleep on the basepaths.
Glad to see Walker get a chance over the Delwyn Youngs and Bobby Crosbys of the world at third and would like to see him get some second sack time as well.

6) However,the Neal Huntington quote on Walker doesn't enthuse me very much-"Walker will be used as a corner utility player who can help us with his versatility and bat," and "he will see playing time off the bench and in spot starts."
That to me sounds a lot like how Steve Pearce has been used and the result has been not really knowing what type of player Pearce can be.
Pearce was placed on the DL for the space created for Walker.

7) Andy LaRoche on the pine for the 4th game in a row.
The damp weather must have really stuck around and traveled with the team...

Photo Credit-Al Behrman-AP Photo