BUCS NOTES | From PNC Park
Stairs sits: Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Matt Stairs hit a pair of two-run homers Thursday night against the Reds and is riding a hot streak that saw him hit five homers in a span of 17 at-bats.
Naturally, some fans attending the Astros-Pirates game Friday wondered why Stairs was out of the lineup.
Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon didn't want to sit down his hottest hitter, but also didn't want Stairs going against a left-handed starter -- Houston's Ron Villone -- when he is so locked in with his swing.
Stairs almost never plays against left-handers, with all but eight of his first 138 at-bats coming against right-handers.
Stairs struggled for much of the first two months of the season, unable to produce during the infrequent occurrences he did play. That, in turn, didn't allow McClendon the luxury of starting him as much as he planned when the season began.
But since going down to Nashville to get some at-bats after injuring a finger, Stairs has produced the power numbers the Pirates expected when they signed him during the offseason.
Stairs said his two homers Thursday off the Reds' Ryan Dempster were a perfect example of what happens when a hitter is going well.
"He threw me a 2-0 slider and I took a real awkward swing and still got it out of the park," Stairs said. "Then he threw me a 3-1 slider that I had to go down and get and somehow got it out of the park.
"It was probably as much luck as skill."
Despite his poor start -- he was hitting .185 less than a month ago -- Stairs recovered by going 24-for-57 (.421) with six doubles, eight homers and 17 RBIs in his first 21 games after coming off the disabled list.
Seconds on the 4th: In a scheduling oddity, the Pirates played the Astros in Pittsburgh on July 4 for a second straight season. The Astros won 8-6 last year, during a holiday weekend in which Houston's Daryle Ward became the first and only player so far to homer into the Allegheny River on the fly. Another oddity: Villone, the Astros' starter Friday, pitched two innings for Pittsburgh against the Astros last year on Independence Day.
On the mend: First baseman Randall Simon, out for two weeks with torn ligaments in his right hand, begins a rehabilitation assignment today at Triple-A Nashville.
Simon hasn't played since hitting the game-winning homer in the 15th inning against Cleveland on June 20. He was injured during the game, but did not realize how seriously until tests were done the following day.
Lofton might play: Center fielder Kenny Lofton didn't start for the third straight game Friday because of a strained right calf, but could return to the lineup tonight.
Lofton did some on-field work Friday and manager Lloyd McClendon thinks he'll be ready to go during the weekend.
The Pirates have described the injury as a strained calf, but McClendon said earlier in the week that Lofton needed some fluid drained from behind his knee.
Lofton was in a 5-for-13 streak before getting hurt chasing a fly ball Tuesday night.
Down on the farm: Left-hander Dave Williams, who began the 2002 season in the Pirates' rotation, pitched seven shutout innings Thursday night for Triple-A Nashville against New Orleans.
Williams (2-1) got the victory as the Sounds won 1-0. He allowed five hits and struck out three with no walks in seven innings. Williams was recently assigned to Nashville after being taken off the Pirates' 60-day disabled list.
-- Associated Press