The Pirates put on one heck of a show this afternoon, capping off the homestand and the unofficial end of the first half in grand style. They’ll head to the break 11 games over .500 and in first place, and couldn’t possibly be riding any higher.
The stars of the day were exactly who you’d expect: Andrew McCutchen and A.J. Burnett. McCutchen pounded a two-run homer to right-center in the first inning to set the tone against a struggling Tim Lincecum, and Burnett didn’t yield anything until the game was well in hand. Then McCutchen homered again in the eighth, probably just as a little warm-up for tomorrow’s Derby.
That wasn’t all. Neil Walker went 5-for-5 with a homer of his own, raising his average all the way up to .291. Brad Lincoln pitched 2.2 perfect innings of relief. Casey McGehee had three hits (although he left the game with a groin injury) and Clint Barmes had two. Absolutely everything was beautiful.
The game wasn’t sold out, but the crowd of nearly 30,000 was still very l...
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July 09, 2012
