Because of the terrible vagaries of Chapel Hill road construction, the drive from my apartment to my lab is about fifteen minutes. I was in lab this evening wrapping some work up, hoping to be able to listen to the game in lab. Unfortunately, that plan was foiled by the rain delay and the the game was just starting right as I closed things up for the night. As I headed to the parking garage, Andrew McCutchen lead the game off with a single. I headed for home and noticed that the gas warning light was on, so I pulled over at the gas station near my apartment. As I got out of the car to fill up, Garrett Jones was doubling in the Pirates second run. I got back into the car and Pedro Alvarez grounded out to drive in the Bucs fourth run. Before I got home (less than a minute from the gas station), Ronny Cedeno had singled in the Bucs’ fifth run.
This probably isn’t something that seems significant to a fan of a better baseball team, but I love it when the Bucs come out and jump all over a bad pitcher. They’ve made so many terrible pitchers look good in the last few years, that a five-spot against Livian Hernandez in the first inning is something that feels particularly gratifying to me.
On top of that, they managed to hold on to the big league without much of a problem. Jeff Karstens made one of the stronger starts I can remember him making by pitching into the seventh inning without issue, and the bullpen — Chris Resop, Joe Beimel, and Evan Meek tonight — slammed the door on any hope the Nats had of coming back. It was just an all-around solid win for the Bucs, the way I sort of hoped they’d win games in spring training with the offense building a lead and the bullpen just nailing it down.
That’s how to end a losing streak. Now if only the Bucs can get something rolling in the other direction …
