Game Recap

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been a cellar-dwelling team for as long as most fans remember. But often, in September, they have their moment of glory by taking three games from a division leading team in PNC Park.

This is what may be happening now, against the Atlanta Braves. A win tonight would result in a sweep. Even a loss would not change the fact that the Pirates have already clinched the three game series.

From the start of Tuesday's game, the Giants' bats were working. Andres Torres - who had been struggling - led off with a double, and two batters later, Aubrey Huff hit a two-run homer. Buster Posey then doubled and scored off a Jose Guillen RBI single. With three runs of support, Tim Lincecum began dealing, not allowing a hit until the fifth inning. Through six innings, he had struck out nine; but in the seventh inning, it all collapsed for the Freak. Kelly Johnson led off with a triple, followed by a Chris Young home run.

From the start of Tuesday's game, the Giants' bats were working. Andres Torres - who had been struggling - led off with a double, and two batters later, Aubrey Huff hit a two-run homer. Buster Posey then doubled and scored off a Jose Guillen RBI single. With three runs of support, Tim Lincecum began dealing, not allowing a hit until the fifth inning. Through six innings, he had struck out nine; but in the seventh inning, it all collapsed for the Freak. Kelly Johnson led off with a triple, followed by a Chris Young home run.

Another former Brooklyn Cyclone, Dillon Gee, made his Major League debut for the Mets tonight against the Washington Nationals. He was opposed by Cuban defector Yunesky Maya, who also made his Major League debut.

Before he even threw his first pitch in the big leagues, Gee was staked to an early 3-0 lead on a three-run first inning homer by Ike Davis. Davis crushed Maya's offering deep into the center field bleachers for his 18th home run of the year.

You can't get off to a much more auspicious start to your Major League career than Dillon Gee did tonight. In his debut, Gee held the Washington Nationals hitless through the first five innings. Though the baseball gods and the bat of Willie Harris would not allow Dillon to flirt with history beyond out number fifteen, he nonetheless posted one of the best debuts in recent memory.

SAN DIEGO- The Padres entered Tuesday night's game against the Dodgers on a 10 game losing streak and needed a win to remain in sole position of first place.

Over the past 10 games the Padres have been losing ground to the San Francisco Giants, leaving the Padres a game ahead in the National League West. '

With one swing from the bat of Nick Hundley in the third inning of Tuesday night's game, relief seemed to take over the team.  

Cubs catcher Geovany Soto’s home run in the bottom of the eighth inning was the game winning run.  The Chicago Cubs took game one of the three-game set by beating their NL Central archrivals Houston Astros 5-4 in front of an attendance of 31,647.

When the game was deadlocked at 4-4 in the eighth, Soto sent reliever Wilton Lopez’s two-out 1-0 fastball out of Wrigley Field.  The long solo shot is his 17th round-tripper on the season, and his second in two days.

On Monday, the Giants did what their team was built to do: win behind dominant pitching, and just enough run support.

In 2007 it was unbelievable. In 2009 it was exciting. In 2010 it is becoming annoying.

Jose Bautista has a very good eye for the difference between balls and strikes. (Even otherwise critical former teammates of the Pittsburgh Pirates would concede that much.) Maybe too good an eye. Ordinarily that is an advantage. But yesterday afternoon, may have been a different story.

Saturday was not one of Bautista's better games. No home runs for one. And no other hits, either. Whatever contribution he is going to make will be through his other main weapon, walks.