Game Thread: 8/5 Padres @ Pirates

Greeting from Las Vegas! I've been walking around the strip with a Padres backpack on all morning. Surprisingly, I've gotten four high fives because of it and bonded with a seven-year old boy who was wearing a Padres hat. Who knew there were that many Padres fans in Vegas?

ANYWAY, so today we start a 10-day road trip with a series in Pittsburgh. Before the off day yesterday, we managed to salvage the LA series with a 3-0 win in the finale to deny the Dodgers of a sweep in San Diego. Tim Stauffer pitched yet another gem before handing the ball over to the bullpen. Josh Spence had another spectacular outing in relief of Stauffer and Heath Bell secured the shutout in the 9th. Jason Bartlett started the scoring with a home run in the 6th. Getting runners on base, capitalizing on errors, and timely hitting added two more runs in the 7th and 8th.

This last homestand was a rough one. We went 3-6, losing all three series, and our offense for the most part was sparse. Hopefully getting back on the road will put us back on the winning track. Tonight we will send Aaron Harang to the mound to face the Pirates. His last start didn't go so well, even though our offense gave him a rare early 4-0 lead. He allowed six runs to the Rockies in 5 2/3 innings and we couldn't get the lead back.

Jeff Karstens will make the start for Pittsburgh, whose starting rotation has been less than impressive lately. The Pirates have lost their last seven consecutive games and nine of their last ten, so hopefully our team can take advantage of their struggles.

I will be watching as much of the game as I can (thankfully it's free today on MLB.TV) and then I'm off to go see The Greatest Band That Ever Lived poolside at the Red Rock Resort. I'd love to get a win.

GO FRIARS!! KEEP THE FAITH!!