If there was any concern that the Pirates would go meekly into the All-Star break, they put that sort of thing aside very quickly this afternoon. Andrew McCutchen hit a two run homer off of Tim Lincecum in the first, Lincecum got chased in the fourth, and the Pirates never stopped piling on the Giants this afternoon.
McCutchen added a second two-run homer in the seventh, Neil Walker had five hits (including a long solo homer to dead center of his own), and the Pirates were on cruise control pretty much all afternoon. AJ Burnett pitched into the seventh inning, Brad Lincoln closed the game down with 2 2/3 innings of strong relief, and the Pirates go into the All-Star Break at 48-37.
Let’s type that again: the Pirates go into the All-Star Break at 48-37. Pretty hard to believe.
The All Star Futures Game is this evening at 5 PM on ESPN2. Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon are both on the roster for the US team. I believe Cole is slotted to the pitch the second inning. I’m not sure about Taillon, though I’d assume we’ll see him at some point tonight.
