After the All-Star break, I wrote a post about five areas the Pirates needed to focus on during the final three months of the season since wins and losses in an 18th consecutive losing season was not a concern.

The five areas were:

1.   Monitor the progress of their young hitters.

2.  Find some answers in the starting rotation

3. Find out what other position players are part of the future

4. Find bullpen depth to get to Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan

5. How to handle the prospects

We addresses question 1 last week, so today, we’ll examine question 2 as we spend the winter putting forth a blueprint to get the Pirates back to respectability.

2.   Find some answers in the starting rotation

JK 8/10

The starters are 20-57 with a 5.49 ERA – over a half run higher than any other rotation in the NL – and none of the starters have lived up to expectations.  GM Neal Huntington has brought in a ton of starters via trade, but none have stepped up.  Charlie Morton and Kevin Hart have been busts thus far and Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens and Daniel McCutchen have struggled.  Will any of these pitchers, or newly-acquired James McDonald, provide some help? Can Paul Maholm and Zach Duke become reliable?

JK 10/22/10

The starting rotation finished with a 32-84 record, a 5.28 ERA, one complete game, a .297 average against and 540 strikeouts – all major league worsts.   The ERA was over one-half a run higher than any NL club, the wins were eight fewer than any MLB club and the losses 12 more than any other MLB club.  The batting average was 14 points higher than any other club.

McDonald provided the Pirates some hope after coming over from the Dodgers in the

Octavio Dotel trade.  He went 4-5 with a 3.52 ERA in 11 start.  He won as many starts as Ohlendorf and Karstens combined.

Ohlendorf pitched better than his 1-11 mark and 4.07 ERA indicated.   His ERA+ of 100 is the third best all-time of pitchers with 10 or more decisions and a winning percentage of .083 or less.   Below is the list:

Rk            Player ERA+ Dec W-L% Year Age  Team

1      Anthony Young  108  17 .059 1993  27

2         Zane Smith  104  14 .071 1989  28

3     Ross  Ohlendorf  100  12 .083 2010  27

4        Carl Scheib   96  13 .077 1951  24

5         Guy Morton   95  14 .071 1914  21

Ohlendor’s 4.07 ERA is the best ERA of any pitcher with a winning percentage of .083 since Anthony Young of the Mets went 2-15 in 1993 and the 10^th best since 1901.    Below is that list.

Rk            Player  ERA Dec W-L% Year Age

1         Guy Morton 3.02  14 .071 1914  21

2        Jack Nabors 3.47  21 .048 1916  28

3         Zane Smith 3.49  14 .071 1989  28

4       Rickey Clark 3.53  12 .083 1968  22

5       Steve Gerkin 3.62  12 .000 1945  32

6     John McPherson 3.66  13 .077 1904  35

7        Tom Sheehan 3.69  17 .059 1916  22

8      Anthony Young 3.77  17 .059 1993  27

9      Walt Leverenz 3.80  13 .077 1914  25

10    Ross  Ohlendorf 4.07  12 .083 2010  27

Karstens was 3-10 with a 4.78 ERA in 19 starts and Morton finished 2-12 with a 7.57 ERA – the highest ERA for any major league starter with 17 starts since Hideo Nomo posted an 8.25 ERA in 2004 for the Los Angeles Dodgers.   The 7.57 ERA is the eighth highest all-time.  The worst in MLB history belongs to Pirate star and current announcer Steve Blass, who posted a 9.81 ERA in 1973.

We wanted to see if Maholm and Duke could become more reliable, however, each went through the worst stretch of their careers in the second half.

At one point in September, the duo went a combined 3-13 with a 7.70 ERA with 157 hits allowed in 101 2/3 innings over a 20-start stretch.   Maholm finished 9-15 with a 5.10 ERA and opponents hit .363 over one 11-game stretch.   He allowed 59 doubles – 10 more than any other NL pitcher – was second behind Duke in average against (.303) and fifth in OPS (.812).

Lincoln was 1-4 with a 6.66 ERA in 11 games – 9 starts – and was probably rushed. He made two relief appearances in September.

Duke was 8-15 with a 5.72 ERA, allowed 12 hits per nine innings and allowed opponents to hit

.328 in his last nine starts.  Duke was last in the NL in the following categories among 51 pitchers who made 25 starts.

.881 OPS

142 OPS+

5.72 ERA

.321 average against

The Future:  McDonald, Maholm, who is under contract through 2011, and Ohlendorf should be locks for the rotation.

Duke, owed over $4 million next season, may have pitched his way out of town.  Both he and    Karstens, due much less, could be non-tendered.   Lincoln could win a spot in the rotation but a curious loss of velocity and former pitching coach Joe Kerrigan’s tinkering with his mechanics set him back.   The Pirates have no need to push him, so Class AAA is a likely starting destination.

LHPs Rudy Owens and Jeff Locke and RHP Bryan Morris could make debuts at some point next season, but Owens is the only one of the three who has pitched at Class AA for an entire season.

With ownership stating its willingness to open up the coffers a little, Pittsburgh will probably try and get one or two low-end veteran starters who could double as mentors for the young Pirates: RHPs Jeremy Bonderman, Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Freddy Garcia, Aaron Harang, Dave Bush all fit the bill.

After the All-Star break, I wrote a post about five areas the Pirates needed to focus on during the final three months of the season since wins and losses in an 18th consecutive losing season was not a concern.

The five areas were:

1.   Monitor the progress of their young hitters.

2.  Find some answers in the starting rotation

3. Find out what other position players are part of the future

4. Find bullpen depth to get to Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan

5. How to handle the prospects

Today, we’ll examine question 1 as we spend the winter putting forth a blueprint to get the Pirates back to respectability.

1.   The progress of their young hitters.

JK (7/10) Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata, Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez have shown they can compete at this level, but can Alvarez play third base?  A move to first base would not be beneficial.   Can he avoid prolonged slumps and strikeouts?

Can Walker, a converted third catcher and third baseman, make the tough transition to second base.  If not, does he have enough pop for a corner infield or outfield spot? Can he hit left-handers well enough?

Can Tabata develop the power to hit in the middle of the lineup or walk more to hit at the top long-term?

Will McCutchen become a perennial All-Star and the beat all-around player the Bucs have had since Barry Bonds or will he plateau and fall prey to all the losing?

JK – October 29:  The Pirates “core four” are the first players under 25 to play everyday for the Pirates since the 1971 World Champion team played 1B Bob Robertson, OF Al Oliver, 3B Richie Hebner, OF Gene Clines and 2B Dave Cash.   Pittsburgh monitored the four players the second half of the season, not wanting them to go through extended struggles, and the foursome came out with glowing colors.

Alvarez had several peeks and valleys with the bat, but he demonstrated tremendous power, and a strong final two weeks really lifted his numbers.   He had an 11-game hit streak in which he went 21-for-45 with 21 RBI until the streak was snapped in his final game of the season.   Pedro hit .274 with 13 homers and 53 RBI in 70 games after the All-Star break.

Defensively, Alvarez made 17 errors and fielded .938 and his metrics were horrible.   He had problems going to his right, but he’ll have every chance to stay at third since the Bucs don’t expect to contend for a few years.  His bat is more of an asset there than across the diamond.

Walker turned out to be the biggest surprise of all the youngsters.   He made just seven errors

in 105 games, his metrics weren’t that good, but he passed the “eye” test in his first season at second base.  Even more impressive, Walker really didn’t begin playing second base in his career until a few weeks after his June promotion.

If Walker doesn’t have the range for second, his late-season power splurge means he could probably hold down third base, his best defensive position, should Alvarez have to move to first.   Walker could also man a corner outfield spot.

After the All-Star break Walker hit .306 with an .847 OPS, 19 doubles, 9 homers and 54 RBI in 74 games.   Many teams opted to force Walker to bat from the right side late in games, but the switch-hitter batted the same with a similar OPS against both, so he’s not a detriment to the team batting right-handed.

Tabata was extremely consistent after his promotion in June and his average dipped under .300 during the closing days of the season.  He finished at .299 with four homers and 19 steals in 102 games.

Listed at just 21 years old although speculation suggests he closer be closer to 25, Tabata is a keeper but his power doesn’t project in the middle of the order and his low walk rate (28 in 441 PA) won’t make him an ideal leadoff or No. 2 hitter.   Because of his stolen base potential, Tabata will become more valuable in fantasy baseball than real life.

Still, he’s a good outfielder, has a lot of upside and the Pirates will have time to determine if he peaked and where he fits on a contending team.

McCutchen is the best all-around player the Pirates have developed since Barry Bonds.   He suffered through the tough summer months and hit .336 with a .954 OPS in his final 31 games to finish strong going into the offseason.  So the losing didn’t negatively affect him.

The 23-year-old has All-Star potential, 20-homer, 30-SB, .300 potential and the tools to be a fine center fielder, although he still misplays balls and take curious routes – reflected in his poor defensive metrics.   He  just needs to focus more on his defense to become a Gold Glove caliber fielder.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have many areas to seek improvement, but there biggest need is starting pitching.

Will the Pirates get any return at all from the hoards of pitchers GM Neal Huntington has brought to the ‘Burgh over the last few seasons?   Will Rudy Owens or Jeff Locke be able to help next season, and how long will it take fire-balling 2010 draftees James Taillon and  Allie Stetson plus 16-year-old Mexican bonus baby Luis Heredia to arrive at PNC Park?

The answers to those questions likely will determine if the Pirates can get back to respectability in the next three or four years.

I know that the Pirates’ pitching has been bad over the years, but  I hadn’t realized how pathetic the situation had become until I did a little research.

Let’s start with a quiz.   Who was the last Pirate to win 20 games?   If you guessed John Smiley in 1991 treat yourself to a box seat at PNC Park in 2011.   You’ll have plenty of arm and leg room and won’t have to fight for a vendor.

Since Smiley in ’91, 202 pitchers in the major leagues have won 20 games in a season.   And since Todd Ritchie, the last Pirate to win 15 games in 1999, there have been 1,076  pitchers who have won 15.   Even worse, Smiley in ’91 was the last pitcher drafted and developed by the Pirates to win 15 games for the Pirates.   That’s a span of almost 20 years.

Since then, the three most successful pitchers the Pirates have developed are Bronson Arroyo, Esteban Loaiza and Rick Reed. The trio combined to win 40 games for Pittsburgh with each pitching 3-4 years in the ‘Burgh.

Arroyo was waived by Pittsburgh and is 94-79 over eight seasons with Boston and Cincinnati, posting between 14 and 17 wins five times.

Loaiza was traded to the Rangers in the Warren Morris deal, went 99-86 with seven different clubs over 11 seasons since leaving Pittsburgh.   As you may recall, Loaiza won 21 games and finished second in Cy Young voting in 2001.

Reed was released by Pittsburgh and went on to win double-digit games six consecutive seasons, including 15- and 16 games  for the Mets and making two All-Star teams.

Even the Royals have had two 15-game winners since Ritchie, including a home-grown Cy Young winner in Zack Greinke.   The Nats-Expos franchise has three hurlers, including home-grown Javier Vazquez.   Even the pitching-challenged Rangers have seven 15-game winners since 1999, including four from their own farm system.

All four expansion teams have easily outperformed the Pirates; the Rockies (9 15-game winners since 1999, four homegrown), Marlins (6,3) and Diamondbacks (12,1) have combined for 26 pitchers with 15 wins.   The Rays (2,1) had two 15-game winners this season in David Price and Matt Garza.

Only the Milwaukee Brewers (1, 1) can match the Pirates’ futility.

Huntington has concentrated on acquiring pitchers in trades over the past few years but what has been the return on investment?

At the major league level, All-Star Evan Meek (Rule V Draft) and Joel Hanrahan (Burnett, Morgan deal) have displayed power arms and the ability to dominate the late innings.

But what about the rotation hopefuls acquired?  Charlie Morton (McLouth deal), Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens and Daniel McCutchen (all in the Nady/Marte deal) have been underwhelming.   The faulty foursome had a combined 8-38  record in 76 starts, although Ohlendorf has a chance to to last long term.  Top prospect Brad Lincoln won just once in nine starts.

James McDonald, acquired from the Dodgers in the Octavio Dotel deal, won four games by himself in just 11 starts.   J-Mac pitched extremely well and will be in the rotation next season along with Paul Maholm and Ohlendorf.

Well maybe the myriad of kids that Huntington acquired and are now toiling in the minor leagues will be the salvation?   Think again.

None are considered Grade-A prospects and only one, Locke (McLouth trade), has won 10 games – nine at Class A Bradenton.     Locke and Bryan Morris (Bay deal) seem to be the furthest along;  both dominated at Bradenton and started well at Class AA Altoona.

Pittsburgh does seem on the right path with Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata, but developing pitchers has been a struggle for decades.

Pittsburgh gave up on Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell, but Paul Maholm and Zach Duke just haven’t developed into anything other than bottom-of-the-rotation starters.   Brad Lincoln was rushed, the Karstens- Ohlendorf-Morton-McCutchen quartet has been a bust and they’re just isn’t any help on the horizon.

Maybe we can get Todd Ritchie or “Big Daddy” Rick Reuschel back?

The Skinny:  The Pirates finished the season 57-105, their most losses during the 162-game era, one more than the 1985 edition.   The most losses by a Pirates team was 112 in 1954. …

The 105 losses is the most in the major leagues since the Arizona Diamondbacks lost 111 games in 2004.  The Detroit Tigers dropped 119 games in 2003, the most in this decade.  …

Pittsburgh finished with a 17-64 road record, matching the 1963 New York Mets for the fewest road wins since the schedule expanded to 162 games in 1962.   Only eight teams in major league history had a worse road winning percentage than Pittsburgh’s .210.

Read the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s recap of the season

All the losses cost manager John Russell his job

The Good: The attempts by OF Jose Tabata and 2B Neil Walker to be the Bucs’ first

Neil Walker had a great season

rookie duo to bat .300 since 1899 fell short.   Tabata batted .299 and Walker .296. …

3B Pedro Alvarez had a strong finish.   He had an 11-game hitting streak

stopped Saturday in which he went 21-for-45 with five homers and 21 RBI.  After All-Star break, Alvarez hit .270 with an .830 OPS in 71 games with 16 doubles, 13 homers and 53 RBI.   Walker hit .306 with nine homers and 54 RBI after the break.  Both hitters ranked in the top 10 in the majors in RBI after the All-Star break. …

With two strikeouts on Saturday against Florida, RHP Joel Hanrahan became the fourth Pirates reliever all-time to reach the century mark.  Hanrahan joins Goose Gossage (151 in 1977), Don Robinson (101 in 1984) and Enrique Romo (106 in 1979).

Joel Hanrahan had a great strikeout season

Hanrahan also closed the season as the Bucs’ all-time leader in SO/9 IP among relievers with 50 IP with 12.92.  The 100 strikeouts and 12.92 SO/9 IP both ranked fourth among major league relievers this season.

Here are Pirates’ leaders in SO/9 IP  using the Baseball-reference.com data base. …

The Bad:  You could say Pittsburgh won the triple crown.  The Bucs were last in ERA (5.00), fielding (.979) and batting – take your pick … runs (587), batting (.242) and OBP (.305). The Bumbling Bucs also ranked last throwing out attempted basestealers (22 percent).

The pitching staff ranked last in average against (.282), OPS (.798) and hits (1567).  …

Pirates starters also made history.  RHPs Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf and Charlie Morton became the first trio in the modern era to start at least 15 games each and win three games or fewer.

Baseball-reference.com list of teams since 1901 who had pitchers with 15 or more starts and three wins or fewer

Pittsburgh also did not have a 10-game winner this season, joining the Arizona Diamondbacks as the only clubs this season.  Thirteen clubs, including the 2008 Pirates, did not post a 10-game winners since 2000.

The Pittsburgh Pirates road woes continued on Wednesday.  This time it got the best of James McDonald.

J-Mac allowed just a run on a fourth-inning homer over six innings but the Pirates couldn’t get anything going in a 4-1 loss to St. Louis in the rubber game on Wednesday.

The loss dropped Pittsburgh to 16-61 on the road this season.   The New York Mets own the major league record for fewest road wins, 17, since the major league schedule expanded to 162 games in 1962.   The Pirates close out the season with four games at Florida.

The Pirates avoided their 15th shutout when Andrew McCutchen led off the ninth with a double and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Neil Walker.  Jose Tabata extended his hitting streak to 11 games and Pedro Alvarez extended his to nine.

In addition, Tabata (.303) and Walker (.298) are attempting to be the first pair of Bucs rookies to bat .300 since 1899.

McDonald (4-6) allowed five hits in seven innings.   He didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven.

First basemen Garrett Jones botched a double-play grounder in the eighth that helped a two-run uprising.

The Pirates couldn’t get to homer-happy P.J. Walters (2-0), who entered having surrendered 11 home runs in 39 innings with an  8.54 ERA in 14 games in 2009-10.

He  allowed singles in the first, third and sixth frames, and the right-hander walked a batter in the sixth, the only frame a Pittsburgh runner advanced to second base until the ninth.

Jeff Suppan has had a fulfilling 16-year career

Is this the end of the line for Jeff Suppan?

The 16-year veteran takes the mound Tuesday night for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Pirates for what could be the last game of his career.

Suppan (2-7, 5.40 ERA) has compiled a 137-142 record with an ERA of 4.70 with six different teams.   He  posted nine double-digit win seasons from 1999-2008 and had his best seasons in his first go-around with St. Louis from 2004-06.

The right-hander was 44-26, including back-to-back 16-win campaigns, in 95 starts.  He  won a World Series in 2005 and NLCS MVP in 2006.

Suppan started the 2010 season with Milwaukee but was released on June 7 after going 0-2 with a 7.84 ERA.   St. Louis re-signed the 35-year-old on July 14 and he has gone 2-5 with a 4.12 ERA in 13 games – 11 starts – for the Cards.

Suppan has picked on the Pirates in 2010 and during his career. He beat them 9-2 on Thursday, yielding just a run and four hits in five frames, and tossed 5 1/3 scoreless frames in an 11-1 drubbing on July 31 to improve to 16-3 against Pittsburgh all-time.

Suppan, who won 10 games with Pittsburgh in 2003 before being traded to Boston to help with its playoff push, has four more wins against Pittsburgh than any other franchise.

The Skinny: The Bumbling Bucs  won a season-high five games after taking the first two against St. Louis, but that streak came to an end with Thursday’s 9-2 thumping.

Pittsburgh is 53-99, but have won 11 of the last 16 games at PNC Park.   Still, the Bumbling Bucs are just one win away from their first 100-loss season since 2001 and is on pace for 106 losses, which would be the most since Arizona lost 111 in 2004. The Pirates lost 112 games in 1952 when the schedule called for only 154 games.   The Bumbling Bucs need to win the last 10 games to avoid losing 100 games.

The Bumbling Bucs are 15-59 (.202) on the road, the sixth lowest mark since 1901 and lowest since 1945.

The Good: LHP Paul Maholm snapped a career-high tying streak of eight winless starts by yielding just two runs and seven hits in seven frames.   He didn’t walk  a batter in the 5-2 triumph.   He was 0-6, 7.88 ERA during the winless skid. …

RHP Charlie Morton won his second game of the season in 15 starts and first since May 5 in Wednesday’s 11-6 win.   He allowed two runs and four hits with a walk and five strikeouts in six innings to lower his ERA to 8.11.   At one time, it looked like Morton would challenge Roy Halladay’s all-time record of highest ERA in a season with 10 or more starts (10.64). …

Former two-time Bumbling Buc Jose Bautista drilled his 50th home run of the season – most in the major leagues this season and more than the Pirates’ top three home run hitters combined.

The Bad: The handwriting is on the wall for several members of the Bumbling Bucs.   Don’t

look for the following players to return next season: 3B Andy LaRoche, OF Lastings Milledge, 1B Jeff Clement, C-RF Ryan Doumit – all in the Opening Day lineup – along with RHP Jeff Karstens, LHP Zach Duke and IF-OF Delwyn Young.

Karstens and Duke will be big non-tender decisons for the Pirates.   Duke is due over $4 million but the 2009 All-Star has regressed despite a subpar defense.  The question is who and how much will it cost for replacements.   RHP Brad Lincoln is the only in-house option.

Pittsburgh is showcasing Doumit for a trade because they seem committed to Chris Snyder (he of low-.200 average and three dropped balls at plate that allowed runs) and don’t want to pay $11 million for two catchers.

Arbitration eligible SS Ronny Cedeno will probably return.   His defensive specs are good and he hits just enough.

The Ugly: The Bumbling Bucs rotation came back to earth in Thursday’s 9-2 shellacking.  LHP Brian Burres was tagged for four runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings.   In the previous 16 games, Pittsburgh starters had posted a 3.59 ERA.

Pittsburgh starters have won a major-league low 31 games this season.   Baltimore starters are next with 37 wins.   This decade, the fewest wins by a starting staff in the NL is 33, by the 2008 Pirates and 2003 Reds.

More starting rotation stats:

allowed 5+ runs 47 times – second in the majors

lasted five innings or less 56 times – second in majors

lasted three innings or less 13 times – tops in majors

5.37 ERA – worst in majors

498 strikeouts – lowest in majors

281 walks – 26th most in majors

80 losses – most in majors, 11 more than any other club

.298 average against – highest in the majors

1 complete game – tied with Cubs for fewest in majors

Presley hit a combined .320 with 28 doubles, 13 triples, 12 home runs and 85 RBI in 136 games with Altoona and Class AAA Indianapolis.   He led all Bumbling Bucco minor leaguers with 166 hits (15th in all of minor league baseball) and tied for eighth among all minor leaguers in triples.

The Skinny:    The Bumbling Bucs didn’t bumble this weekend, sweeping a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks to tie a season high with three straight wins for the fifth time this series.

It was the fourth sweep of the season at PNC Park (Reds, Cubs twice) and the first-ever sweep of Arizona home or away.

Pittsburgh is 51-98 for the season, but have won nine of their last 13 at PNC Park. The Bumbling Bucs are on pace for 107 losses, which would be the most since Arizona lost 111 in 2004.   The Pirates lost 112 games in 1952 when the schedule called for only 154 games.   The Bumbling Bucs need to finish 12-1 to avoid losing 100 games.

The Bumbling Bucs are 15-59 (.202) on the road, the sixth lowest mark since 1901 and lowest since 1945.

The Good: RHP James McDonald allowed two runs in five innings to pick up the win on Saturday.  He ran his scoreless innings streak to 20 before getting tagged in the fourth.  It’s the longest scoreless streak since Kip Wells went 22 frames in 2002.   At 4-4 with a 3.50 ERA in 9 starts since joining the club, J-Mac has more wins than Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens and Brad Lincoln have combined (3) in 44 starts. …

After starting his Pirates career 4-for-31, OF John Bowker went 3-for-4 with a double and homer in Saturday’s 9-6 win.  A solid minor league hitter, many fans feel he’s a prospect and everyday player next season, but the 27-year-old is a AAAA player. …

The Altoona Curve, the Bumbling Bucs Class AA entry in the Eastern League, won the league championship on Saturday night.  Tony Watson allowed two runs in six innings and struck out 10 in the 5-2 victory.

2B Neil Walker hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday, his 12th for a 4-3 lead, and power RHPs  Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek retired all five hitters they faced with three strikeouts to nail down the first Pirates sweep. …

OF Andrew McCutchen has two homers and nine RBI in his last eight games.

The Bad: With 106 strikeouts, 3B Pedro Alvarez has already set the single-season record for strikeouts in a season for a Pirates 3Bman.  Heis three strikeouts away from setting the record for rookies age 23 or younger (Ralph Kiner, 1946).

The Ugly: None this weekend.  There has been enough “ugly” going around.

Fantasy Focus:  OF Jose Tabata and 2B Walker have a chance to become the first rookies to hit .300 for the Bucs since Jason Kendall in 1996.

Next: After an offday on Monday, the Bumbling Bucs play three games with St. Louis before closing out the home season with four against Houston this weekend.

James McDonald is giving Pirates fans something to smile about.

McDonald pitched eight scoreless innings on Monday before Pittsburgh dropped a 1-0 decision to the New York Mets in 10 innings.

The 25-year-old allowed five hits and two walks while striking out four.  In his previous start, McDonald beat Atlanta with seven scoreless frames.

With 15 scoreless innings over two starts, J-Mac joins LHP Brian Burress as the only other Buc to make two consecutive starts without allowing a run this season.

Since 1960, five Pirates have gone three consecutive starts without yielding a run:  Lee Tunnell, Dock Ellis, Steve Blass, Jim Rooker and Woodie Fryman.  All three games for Blass and Fryman were shutouts.

Since joining Pittsburgh, McDonald is 3-4 with a 3.49 ERA in eight starts.  He has allowed 19 runs, 45 hits and 18 walks in 49 innings with 45 strikeouts.

Considering that Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, Brad Lincoln and Charlie Morton have combined for five wins in 62 starts and the more experienced Paul Maholm and Zach Duke have combined for 27 losses and an opponents average against over .300, McDonald is a welcome sight.

McDonald was dominant in his first start against the Rockies in early May.  The 6-5 righthander struck out six of the first seven batters he faced, allowed just four hits over six scoreless innings in a 5-1 win.  McDonald finished with eight strikeouts against one walk.

Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington has concentrated on stockpiling starting pitcher hopefuls since taking over the reigns three years ago, but his acquisitions, including  Karstens,  Daniel McCutchen, Charlie Morton and Ross Ohlendorf who are a combined 5-31 thiave had little or no success at the major league level.

McDonald, obtained from the Dodgers in the Octavio Dotel deal, was the key player acquired Saturday in three deals made by Huntington. The Pirates traded five players – none of whom had a future with the ball club – and received McDonald, solid major league catcher Chris Snyder, a very good outfield prospect in Andrew Lambo and a trio of fringe prospects in RHP Joe Martinez, OF John Bowker and SS Pedro Ciriaco.

Notes: 2B Neil Walker had his 18-game hit streak snapped Monday.  It was the longest by a Pirates rookie since Rennie Stennett hit in 18 straight in 1971.

Pirates 2B Neal Walker delivered a two-out, two-run single off a 99 mph fastball by Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning on Saturday to provide Pittsburgh  a 4-3 lead.

The hit extended Walker’s hitting streak to 17 games, the longest for a Buc rookie since Rennie Stennett hit in 18 straight in 1971.

Cincinnati rallied for a 5-4 victory on Joey Votto’s homer in the 10th inning.