One thing that never fails to amuse me is when people rant and rave about being unable to see a good team play baseball at PNC Park. In actuality, the Pirates have a very good record at PNC this year (35-29, with a pythag to back it up) and the worst winning percentage they’ve had at PNC in the last three years is .457 in 2007. Actually, the very worst overall record they’ve had at PNC since it opened was 2005’s 34-47. In general, the Pirates win anywhere between 37 and 43 games at home. It’s true that they haven’t had a winning season, but in general your chances of seeing them win a game at PNC aren’t nearly as awful as you might think.
But yeah, the road games. The Pirates are an awful, awful road team this year and they have been for at least as long as PNC has opened. This year, the Bucs are 18-43 on the road. If they were just 30-31, they’d have a 65-60 record and would be in the wild card conversation. Alas, that’s not the case and I’m certainly not here to play that game. What I am here to say is that it would be incredibly encouraging to see the Pirates beat the Brewers twice this weekend, just to prove to themselves (and to me) that they can actually play on the road at a level similar to the one that they showed at PNC Park over the previous nine games.
Starting tonight, we find out if the recently rejuvenated Pirates can keep up their hot streak on the road. Zach Duke and Manny Parra take the mound at 8:05.
