Without capitalization, Bucs hold on

How did the Pirates pull this one off? Multiple times in the game, Pittsburgh had the bases loaded with less than two outs and weren't able to capitalize. Much of the underachieving was thanks to Adam LaRoche and Jose Bautista, who refused to slap the ball anywhere out of the infield to bring in a run. Luckily, the Bucs held on to beat the Washington Nationals.

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Adam LaRoche has become a huge disappointment to the state of the 'Burgh. Last year, LaRoche started very slowly but ended up having a very solid year (21 HR, 88 RBI). He ended up leading the Bucs in every major offensive category in 2007. This season, though, has lead to an even worst start for the first baseman. LaRoche is hitting .213 into mid-June, and with names like Steve Pearce hovering in Triple-A, Adam needs to get rolling.

Ian Snell (3-6) arguably threw his best start since picking up his last victory in April. Snell went six innings, giving up just a single run on six hits. He was in control of every one of his pitches, striking out six Nationals and brought a dominant A-game that we had not seen in quite sometime. Three walks show that Ian's control isn't completely there, but this was an important win and an important start for the staff ace. 

Ryan Doumit, in his return from a thumb injury, has torn up Washington over the past two nights. Doumit has smacked three homeruns and has hit an astonishing five extra-base hits in eight at-bats. Doumit was supposed to back up Ronny Paulino for the entire 2008 campaign, but after a terrific spring, John Russell's choice of starting the switch-hitter behind the dish has paid off greatly. 

Tomorrow, in an 12:35 ET start, Tom Gorzelanny (4-5) looks to put up some strong innings as Snell did tonight against the Nats. Gorzy's 6.83 ERA tells it all - something just isn't going right for the lefty. With enough control issues to write a book on, Tom will hopefully settle down and pitch as well as he did in his last start against Arizona.

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