This. Is. No. Typo.
The Buccos beat the ChiSox 8-7 yesterday, behind an unbelievable catch by left fielder Jason Bay.
It all seemed like a classic Pirates failure. Slugger Jim Thome walks to the plate in the top of the 9th. 2 batters were on, and Thome represented the go-ahead run. Thome smacked a ball to deep left, and Bay gave chase. Feeling for the wall with his right hand, Bay lept and pulled a go-ahead homer back into play. The runner at 3rd tagged and scored, but Bay minimized the damage. Matt Capps finished the inning to close the series-clinching game.
My reaction. “Holy Sh…!”
With the win, the Buccos have now taken 2 of 3 from the Rangers and the ChiSox. Sure, both teams aren’t in the upper echelon of the American League, but the Bucs will take any interleague win they can get.
Hopefully, these 2 series wins will provide some momentum, as the team now plays their final 2 interleague series against the hot Mariners and the Angels. Clearly, these 2 teams are much better than the last 2 opponents.
Although the team was swept by the Yankees last weekend, the Buccos have rallied to turn an early 0-3 interleague hole into a more-respectable 4-5 push. As I’ve said in the past, I’m just hoping the team can manage 1 win in both series against Seattle and Los Angeles (or Anaheim, or Anaheim of Los Angeles or whatever they’re calling the Angels this year.) Milwaukee lost yesterday, thanks to a walk-off dinger by the Twins (take that, Prince Fielder and your inside-the-park-homer). The Buccos are only 8 games back of the Brew-Crew, so whatever momentum gained from yesterday could really boost the team’s fortunes as they close out the ’07 interleague schedule. Hopefully. This poll (above) on the Pirates’ homepage shows, despite the annual awful play of the Buccos, that fans still aren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
