[The Pirate Fan]

Pittsburgh Pirates @ St. Louis Cardinal
1 Win | 0 Wins
1st in Div. | 3rd in Div.
0 - 0 At Home | 0 - 1 At Home
1 - 0 Away | 0 - 0 Away

ST. LOUIS -- When the Pirates take the field against Cardinals righty Kyle Lohse on Tuesday, it will mark the second of at least seven consecutive games in which the Pirates will face a right-handed starter.

With pitching matchups set through the Pirates' four games in St. Louis and subsequent three contests in Cincinnati, there are no left-handed opposing starters on the docket. And while manager John Russell seems unfazed by how his team will fare against a southpaw starter once it finally sees one, the Pirates' lineup certainly favors facing right-handers.
"Obviously, we've got a lot of left-handed hitters, so I'd say it plays a little better for us than facing left-handed starters," Russell said. "Facing right-handed starters, the balance of our lineup is a little easier to put together."

Russell's lineup includes four left-handed hitters and the switch-hitting Ryan Doumit. As a result, when he finally revealed his regular-season batting order, it came as little surprise that Russell did his best to disperse those left-handed-hitting options throughout.

The only change, albeit a slight one, from the expected lineup was Russell slotting Andy LaRoche into the sixth spot and Brandon Moss behind him in the seventh hole. For much of spring, Moss hit ahead of LaRoche.
But with LaRoche inserted between his elder brother, Adam, and Moss, it breaks up what could be a string of four straight left-handed bats, depending upon which side Doumit hits from. That, Russell believes, will make his offense harder to pitch against.

"This might make some decisions a little tougher," Russell said. "If I see a lineup that's left-right-left-right throughout, you have to think a little bit about how you're going to use your bullpen. The opposing side is going to have to do some things to match up against us."

In other words, opposing managers may have to burn two relievers instead of one in an inning to counter the Pirates' balanced lineup. Or if they don't, the Pirates believe they'll get matchups that work in their favor.
Interestingly enough, the makeup of the Pirates' lineup may not be that significant in Tuesday's matchup against Lohse. There is little discrepancy in the results that right-handed and left-handed hitters have had against the 30-year-old righty in his career.

Left-handed hitters have a .289 career average against Lohse, while right-handed hitters have a career .276 average. Last season, left-handed hitters actually fared worse (.254 season average) against Lohse than did right-handed hitters (.285 average).

[The Pirate Fan]

Uh, one of those losses that you just hate to see your team have. The Pirates were just outplayed by a team who everyone knew was going to be looking for revenge.

Snell was outplayed like crazy and even the pitchers after couldn't save a game that still was saveable. Of course, the 'Cards were supposed to be a powerhouse this season...

So yeah, sorry for he late recap but the 'Burg sucked tonight, really hope they reound tonight against the Cards once again.

ST. LOUIS -- Kyle Lohse is sure glad he doesn't have to face Albert Pujols and the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals' stacked lineup.

Pujols hit a two-run homer and reached base five times, Lohse pitched seven innings and the Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-3 on Tuesday night. Pujols went 2-for-3 with two walks and also reached on an error after going 3-for-4 in Monday's season-opening 6-4 loss against the Pirates.

Chris Duncan and Yadier Molina also had two-run homers for St. Louis, which pounded out 12 hits against four Pittsburgh pitchers. Joe Thurston and Khalil Greene each had two RBIs. Colby Rasmus went 2-for-4 and scored twice in his major league debut.

"I wouldn't want to pitch against us right now," Lohse said. "Hopefully, we can have more nights like tonight." Lohse (1-0) allowed three runs, two earned, and five hits to move to 4-0 in six career starts against Pittsburgh. "It went pretty good for the first one," he said. "I was a little too juiced early. But after that, I felt like I settled in. I didn't have my best stuff in the last couple of innings, but I made it work."

Freddy Sanchez hit a two-run homer and Ryan Doumit drove in the other Pittsburgh run with a first-inning sacrifice fly.

The Cardinals scored all their runs in the first five innings, bouncing back after Monday's difficult loss. With the Pirates down to their last strike, Jack Wilson hit a three-run double to cap a four-run ninth inning off rookie closer Jason Motte as Pittsburgh earned a dramatic victory on Opening Day.

Duncan started Ian Snells woes when he hit a two-run homer off the foul pole in right with two out in the first. Thurston made it 3-1 an inning later with his first major league hit, an RBI double down the line in right that plated Molina.

After Rasmus singled to right to start the third, Pujols belted a drive over the Pirates' bullpen in left field. "If you can figure out [how to stop him], you go tell the whole league," Pittsburgh manager John Russell said. Snell (0-1) lasted just four innings, allowing eight runs, six earned, and nine hits. "I didn't execute any of my pitches tonight and I paid the price," he said. "I just didn't have location; nothing was working for me."