Pirates 3, Padres 1: 17 Ks On A Dead Team's Chest

Francisco Liriano was a force to be reckoned with as he struck out 13 of the 27 batters he faced tonight. He allowed just 4 hits and 2 walks in 7 shutout innings. Andrew Cashner wasn't so bad himself, giving up 5 hits and 2 walks in his 7 frames. But Cashner got burned by Chris Denorfia's two-run error in the top of the fourth inning and an offense that went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. To make things even more disappointing, Will Venable's 15 game hitting streak came to an end as he went 0 for 4, striking out three times.

Both starters were in top form for the first three innings, but Cashner's night went south thanks to the triple threat of Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, and our very own Chris Denorfia. After McCutchen's leadoff single, Alvarez hit a routine single into right center. Denorfia charged forward, ready to stop McCutchen from reaching third with nobody out, but the ball went right under his glove. With Venable charging for the ball too, it rolled all the way to the fence, and Alvarez rounded the bases without trouble. Cashner recovered well, keeping the Pirates from scoring again until the sixth. It was Alvarez again, with a real home run drilled to right field.

Our boys got a rally going in the bottom of the ninth against Mark Melancon. Chase Headley picked up a single and then scored on Nick Hundley's RBI double. Mark Kotsay came to the plate in place of Ronny Cedeño, but ended the game with the Padres' 17th and final strikeout of the night.

Tyson Ross takes the mound against A.J. Burnett at 7:10 tomorrow. That name sounds familiar, but I can't really place my finger on it.

abara led the conversation tonight, with TheThinGwynn close behind. But if you're into quality over quantity, TTG received the thread's one and only rec.