September 17, 2006
Pirates Sweep
The Pittsburgh Pirates took the third game of their series with the Mets today, sweeping the best team in the National League. Since August 11th, the Pirates are 21-14, the same record as New York. The win means the Pirates won't lose 100 games this season, and the strong finish gives them some hope for next year.
Zach Duke is a big part of that comeback. He's allowed 16 earned runs in 59 1/3 innings over that time, a 2.43 ERA, including his eight shutout innings today. They've also been getting some good OBA's from their hitters, making Jason Bay's power more effective.
The Mets are still one win or one Philly loss from clinching the NL East.
I also like Ian Snell in the Pirates staff. Looking at the night games he's pitched, his record is 11-5 with a 4.15 ERA. It's the day games that he can't seem to pitch in (2-5, 7.18). If he can just change that, then Pittsburgh could have a nice 1-2 punch in Duke & Snell next year. If I were their GM....I'd try building around that during the off-season.
