Cubs batter Correia, Pirates, 11-6
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Pirates pitcher Kevin Correia hands the ball to manager Clint Hurdle in the third innning of Tuesday's game at PNC Park. Catcher Mike McKendry joined them at the mound.
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Other nights, Tyler Colvin's massive home run may have represented a talking point, a did-you-see-that moment the next morning.
Tuesday night, the way the ball left the park off the bats of the Chicago Cubs, it blended in with the rest of them.
Colvin's home run ended up in the river and was one of six the Cubs hit in their 11-6 win against the Pirates at PNC Park. Kevin Correia allowed four of them in his shortest start this season and the latest red flag in the performance of the starting pitchers.
Game: Pirates vs. Cubs, 7:05 p.m., PNC Park.
TV, radio: Root Sports, WPGB-FM 104.7.
Pitching: RHP Charlie Morton (8-6, 4.04) vs. RHP Matt Garza (4-8, 3.99).
Key matchup: Morton vs. his command. He walked 11 batters over his past three starts (1-1).
Of note: Garza allowed 12 hits and struck out 12 against the Pirates April 3 at Wrigley Field.
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The Pirates allowed two home runs each in the second, third and fourth innings. The previous time they allowed six in a game was Aug. 9, 2006 against the Astros in Houston. The Cubs had not hit six in one game since Sept. 17, 2006 against the Cincinnati Reds. They also recorded a season-high 21 hits.
"We haven't seen an outburst like that in a while," Cubs manager Mike Quade said. "It was just great."
Garrett Jones joined in with two home runs of his own, and Brandon Wood delivered a pinch-hit homer as well.
Correia (12-9) took the loss, pitching two-plus innings and allowing eight runs on 10 hits. Correia was 11-6 after a July 3 win against the Washington Nationals but has gone 1-3 since, allowing 24 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings for an ERA of 9.52.
"I feel like I could have tried to throw the ball down the middle and had a better result than that," Correia said.
Tuesday marked the third time in his past five starts that Correia has pitched 4 2/3 innings or fewer. He finished July with a 6.08 ERA for the month and 18 earned runs in 26 2/3 innings. He is 2-7 at PNC Park, 10-2 on the road.
"I might be moving into the Westin downtown because it seems like I can only get people out if I sleep in a hotel bed," Correia said.
He said he felt good physically, and manager Clint Hurdle noted that Correia was not tired in his previous start. He worked in front of hitters -- two of the home runs came on two-strike counts -- but found no out-pitch.
"When I made good pitches, they got base hits," he said. "When I didn't, they hit home runs."
First Published August 3, 2011 12:17 am
