Game 91: Pirates 4 Yankees 2

Baseball is a game of split second emotional changes. For example, this was me over about ten
seconds tonight:

Tie game, eighth inning, Nate McLouth squares around to bunt with Jack Wilson on first and no one out.

NATE'S BUNTING?!? WTF RUSSELL??? HAVE YOU WATCHED THIS DUDE SWING THE BAT THIS WEEK?!?

Nate swings away, launches a home run into right field

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

I watch the replay and realize that the ball went almost right over the seats that I was sitting in when I was at Maholm vs. Mussina Mk. 1 and that, hey, if I pause the replay I do believe that's my dad and my brother.

Crap. Stupid rain.

After four straight awful starts, the Pirates got their second sparkler in a row from Paul Maholm tonight as he cruised through eight innings against the Yankees, only really stumbling in the seventh when he let the Yankees string a few hits together and tie the game up. If the only reliever we see is Damaso Marte, that means that there's a pretty good chance that the Pirates are going to be taking home a win. Maholm's outing was especially nice in relation to John Van Benschoten's disaster last night. Over eight innings tonight, Maholm walked one hitter and threw 73 of 108 pitches for strikes. Over four and two-thirds last night, Van Benschoten walked 6 and threw 62 of 117 pitches for strikes. With a staff full of guys that have walked entirely too many hitters this year, watching Maholm a bit couldn't hurt.