Pittsburgh Pirates Could Use a Few More "Lulus" Like Milwaukee Opener

Consider the Pirates' team statistics in the opener against Milwaukee. The squad went 13 for 39 for a batting average of .333. Counting the six walks, there were 19 base runners in 45 plate appearances for an on-base percentage of .422.

No team has ever put up those statistics for a whole season, but individual stars have. For one glorious night, a Pirates squad with the worst offense in all of major league baseball collectively batted like an MVP candidate.

Admittedly, these results were achieved against Randy Wolf, who is not one of the better pitchers in the majors. But consider this: He came into the game with a 5.73 ERA and left with a 6.05 ERA because he gave up six earned runs in six innings for a one-game ERA of 9.00.

The Pirates did better against Wolf than the "rest of baseball." If only they could do better against other pitchers than the league average, especially given their now-stellar pitching.

Wolf showed his vulnerability early when he gave up two walks in the first inning and two hits in the second. That represented a WHIP of 2.00. Forget for a moment that Milwaukee's one hit was a Nyjer Morgan home run for a temporary Brewers 1-0 lead.

The chickens came home to roost in a six-run Pirates third. Five hits and a walk scored three runs and loaded the bases. After a fielders' choice, the next hit, a double, cleared the bases of their original runners.

Surprisingly, Wolf managed to get "three up and three down" for the next three innings (aided in the sixth by Jose Tabata's caught stealing). But Pittsburgh scored two more runs in the eighth inning, against Milwaukee's lone additional run in the sixth.

The Bucs' total of 19 hits and walks represented a WHIP of greater than 2.00, while their pitching was very good, except for a moment of weakness by starter Kevin Correia in the sixth.

If the Pirates can show similar form against Milwaukee for the rest of the season, they will have overcome one of their earlier bugaboos. And if this is the game that marks a breakout of their bats, they will actually amount to something this year.