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Pirates try to continue strong start in St. Louis

Apr 5, 2011 - 2:53 PM (Sports Network) - Clint Hurdle has the Pirates off to an inspiring start as Pittsburgh aims to improve its record to 4-1 this evening in the middle test of a three-game set with the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

The Pirates are cashing in on a normally elusive quality for the club, capable starting pitching as Charlie Morton's six-inning outing Monday was the latest in a string of strong outings to begin the year. Morton (1-0) went six innings and scattered three hits and a run and walked five in the 4-3 victory

"He did everything you could hope for from a starter," said Hurdle of Morton's performance. "He had a lot of walks but he dealt with that good and had an outstanding game for us."

Andrew McCutchen returned from a short one-game absence due to a stiff neck to crack a two-run homer during a four-run sixth inning. Neil Walker hit a two-run double in the frame for Pittsburgh, which took two of three from the Cubs in Chicago to open the year.

Joel Hanrahan worked 1 1/3 innings to pick up his third save, fanning two in the process.

Only a poor outing by reliever Evan Meek in Saturday's 5-3 loss to Chicago has spoiled the Pirates' new-found pitching riches with starters Kevin Correia, Paul Maholm and Ross Ohlendorf tossing six innings each in front of Morton to spark the strong start.

Hoping to keep the momentum going will be Tuesday's starter, James McDonald, who went 4-5 in 11 starts for the Buccos down the stretch last year after coming over from the Dodgers in July.

McDonald served mostly as a reliever in his first full season in the bigs in 2009, posting a 4.00 earned-run average and 5-5 mark over 63.0 innings that included four starts. The 26-year-old right-hander performed well after the 2010 deadline deal, logging a 3.52 ERA and recording 61 strikeouts against 24 walks in 64.0 innings.

McDonald made one start against the Cardinals in 2010, coming out on the wrong end of a 4-1 loss in his final start of the season September 29. He worked six frames, struck out seven, failed to issue a walk and yielded just one run on five hits. He's appeared in four other contests against St. Louis, all in relief, and holds down a 2.61 ERA over 10 1/3 innings.

St. Louis finds itself in a 1-3 hole to start the year after coming into the Pittsburgh series having lost two of three to San Diego at home.

Lance Berkman and Allen Craig chased home runs in the eighth to make it a one- run game but overall the Cardinals were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Albert Pujols went 0-for-3 with a walk to see his season average dip to .125.

Starter Kyle Lohse (0-1) was touched for four runs on six hits in seven innings to suffer the loss. He walked one and struck out five one game after Jaime Garcia willed St. Louis to its first win of 2011 behind a 2-0 shutout of the Padres on Sunday.

"That ball was up and away to Walker, it was a bad pitch," said Lohse of his outing Monday. Then I threw what was supposed to be a down and away sinker across the plate and McCutchen got a good wing on it. Those two pitches cost us the game."

St. Louis has collected seven or fewer hits in each of its last three games since banging out 12 in a season-opening 5-3 loss to the Pads that went 11 innings.

Kyle McClellan will be making his first big-league start Tuesday and enters 2011 as a wild card as St. Louis' fifth starter. The 26-year-old right-hander was plucked from the bullpen just recently to have a go in the rotation to replace Cards' ace Adam Wainwright, who was lost for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery this spring.

All McClellan did in his short audition as a starter was post a 0.78 ERA in five Spring starts, winning four of those outings. It's a small sample size, but the former reliever has proved an ability to pitch no matter the situation. He was second among Cardinal relievers last year in ERA (2.27) and worked a team-high 75 1/3 innings out of the pen while recording 60 strikeouts and 23 walks. In three seasons for St. Louis, McClellan has appeared in 202 games out of the bullpen with a respectable 3.23 ERA.

St. Louis won nine of the 15 games against Pittsburgh last season.