PNC Park– Good afternoon from PNC Park where today we have game three of the 4-game, 2-city set with the Detroit Tigers. The Pirates, fresh off of last night’s 1 – 0, 11 inning victory over the Tigers, throw A.J. Burnett (3 – 5, 2.57 ERA) against Anibel Sanchez (5 – 4, 2.38 ERA).
Leading Off
There’s a new addition to the Pirate clubhouse. A shark tank has been installed on the bullpen-half of the clubhouse. It’s a 150-gallon tank that houses two pirate ships, a skull, and a few pirate figurines, a grouper, banded cat shark, coral cat shark, and a puffer fish that Hurdle jokingly said “ I was a little confused with the blow fish, but then they said Zagurski brought that” Zagursky was added to the bullpen two days ago.
The tank, accessories, and fish were donated by Gary Knabe, a Pirate season ticket holder who owns Elmer’s Aquarium & Pet Center in Monroville.
Hurdle’s Quotes
On the new shark tank in the clubhouse – “Their having fun with it, man. You need to have some fun in this game. I’m a big fan on fun, we like focus, we like results, but you gotta have some fun and sometimes the funs gotta be first, so they’ve identified it, they’ve embraced it so we’ll roll with it.”
On savoring milestones when they occur (Pirates won 15 games in April and May for the 1st time in team history) – “I think we gotta do things like that to get where we want to go. There’s gotta be new milestones we’ve gotta do things differently than they have been done in the past. Tom (Singer) mentioned last night that we won three straight road trips for the first time since 1992. Those kind of things need to happen for us to get to where we need to go.”
On facing Triple Crown winner, Miguel Cabrera – “He’s as good as we’ve got going in this industry and what really kinda grabs me is his swing. It’s the same swing; balls away, balls in, down, up, it’s the same swing. Bat speed being maintained throughout the swing, it’s short, it’s quick, it’s powerful. He can get fooled once, no big deal. He’s a game changer with one swing of the bat.”
Other Notes
— According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Neil Walker is the first Pirate to hit a home run for the only run in an extra-inning game since Ed Ott hit an 11th-inning homer at Shea Stadium on April 26, 1978. (Bert Blyleven pitched all 11 innings of that game for the Pirates for the win.)
— Walker has gotten his swing back as of late, going 9-for-21 with 2 doubles, a triple, and 2 homers in his last 5 games after having a total of 5 extra base hits through his first 33 games of the season.
— The Pirates are 16 – 7 against American League foes at PNC since the start of the 2011 season. They have gone 8 – 0 – 1 in its last 9 AL home series since being swept by the White Sox in three games at home in 2010.
— The Pirates are tied for 5th in the NL with 149 extra base hits behind the Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, and Braves. They also have recorded an extra base hit in each of their last 47 games where they have collected 85 doubles, 8 triples, and 52 homers.
First pitch is set for 7:05
(Photo Credit: Carlos Osorio/Associated Press)
